#zero context regarding his origin

[darkdrin6]

The thirst to write some crap prevailed over laziness, hooray! Or it was spring that breathed a thirst for life into us, it doesn't matter. The important thing is that some time ago we came across a very controversial post from @evilbihan. The post.

We agreed with other posts by this author regarding MK1, but here we still want to object on a number of points. It is inconvenient to write all your notes in the comments, but there is something to say, which is exactly why we are writing this.

!Attention!: This is not an attack on the author, not a belittling of his dignity, not some kind of hatred and dislike. We want to note the controversial points in his statement and that's it. And if we've sorted it out, then let's go.

For convenience, we will split the post into the same blocks. We do not disagree with the whole post, but we will note these blocks too.

One more important warning: here we will only talk about the MK9-11. MK1 sucks cock like the latest harbor whore.

"Kuai Liang has always stood on the shoulders of others" and "Tundra as a character does not exist."

(Screenshot, so as not to be unfounded)

Considering that we are talking about the version of Kuai Liang from MK9-11 from here on, we will only touch on this version. But let's mention that the statement "Kuai stands on the shoulders of others" became legitimate only with the release of MK1, when he was given the role of Scorpion. More precisely, not even a role, but just a name that no longer stands for anything.

In other versions, adopting the name Sub-Zero made sense. And it was a plot event that was important to the character. It's like saying that Hanzo has never been able to protect his family and that makes him a bad character. No, this is the event that shapes the character. This is an important plot point for the personality and for the further path of life, a defining event, if you want to call it that.

In addition, it is confusing to mention that the character is supposedly less active because someone else saved him. In MK, characters often save each other. Yes, in the context of the post it makes sense, but in the context of the story itself, this is a completely logical development. No one broke out of the Cyber Initiative's control on their own, so it makes sense that Kuai was saved by someone. The very fact of the rescue says little about the character. Only that he was dear enough to someone to convince others to help. Besides, let's remember that he was immediately sent to spy, so it wasn't just kindness that played a role here.

"Tundra has never been relevant in Mortal Kombat until he took the mantle of Sub-Zero."

Well… yeah? Because that was the point of it. We had never seen Kuai before he became Sub-Zero, assuming the title after his late brother. This is literally his plot function, the point of entry into the plot. An event that also defined him as a character. This is analogous to the death of the Hanzo family for Hanzo himself (an important plot event) and his enslavement to Kuan Chi.

This statement is equivalent to saying that Hanzo, as a character, did not exist before being reborn into a ghost, and Johnny did not exist as a character before entering the tournament. It's just that the original source didn't bother to tell at least something more about Kuai (they just apparently didn't come up with this). As players, we simply don't have the "before" materials, because the creators didn't create them. In the plane of the foreseeable plot, the Tundra did not exist, but here we are trying to evaluate the characters as living people, and living people do not appear out of thin air. In the plane of lore, Kuai had years of life before becoming a Sub-Zero, but we just don't know anything about them, so this is a very controversial statement. Because it is based on some undescribed events about which we have little idea.

"The best proof of that is the fact that Raiden never even considered him for his team of Earthrealm's champions."

Raiden did not consider anyone from Lin Kuei as champions at all (he took Tomas to the team in MK9 because he was in the right place at the right time). And the reason for this is not that Kuai is an empty character, but that Lin Kuei are murderers, secretive and cruel, who indirectly collaborated with Quan Chi (their Grandmaster for sure, he took a contract from a sorcerer in Mythology). At the same time, Raiden does not express distrust of Kuai. So to say that Raiden ignored him because Kuai is not capable enough or not diligent enough is wrong. Because Raiden definitely didn't do it. In addition, it is with the adoption of the title of Sub-Zero that Kuai essentially comes to Raiden's attention.

Here, with all due respect, the stretching of the owl on the globe begins. From here on out.

Speaking of earning the mantle, a little clarification. "Scorpion" is just Hanzo Hasashi's call sign, which means nothing without Hanzo himself. This is not some kind of mantle/title in lore MK and never has been. You may have other information, but we've never heard of it. At the same time, as "Sub-Zero" it is not just a title, but a ancestral title that is obviously passed down in one family. Bi Han inherited it after his father's death, when he was very young. It is logical that after Bi Han, his offspring or his brother would have received the title. Because to be a Sub-Zero, you have to be a cryomancer, and cryomancers are now represented by one bloodline (not counting Frost). This is supported by the fact that cryomancers are descended from people from Edenia (which was confirmed not only in MK11). Their abilities are innate (genetic) in nature and cannot be transferred to someone else. Perhaps earlier, when there were more cryomancers, the title really had to be earned, but there are no more cryomancers (the reasons for their disappearance are probably degeneration, natural extinction of abilities, as well as violent deaths, since cryomancers belonged to Lin Kuei and moreover, they founded Lin Kuei).

In addition, this title gives nothing but a target on his back (metaphorically, of course), because even as a venerable warrior bearing such a title, Bi Han directly said that he could be killed for violating orders or failing. Outside the clan, the title of Sub-Zero is more of a minus than a plus. And within the clan, it is also a rather difficult burden. So Kuai didn't win anything by getting this title. Moreover, he got it legally, so the word "stole" does not fit here at all.

It is also worth adding here that Kuai really wanted to avenge his brother, since Bi Han's death turned out to be a heavy loss for him. From Kuai MK9's biography, we know that they are the only ones who were stolen at an early age (all other members of the clan, based on their biographies, were recruited in various ways at a more mature age), so it is logical to assume that surrounded by adults, Bi Han and Kuai were very strongly connected with each other. If you think we're wrong, then let's just remember Kuai's behavior in MK9. Smoke warns him that adopting the name Sub-Zero will attract unwanted attention, but Kuai says it's a way to honor Bi Han's memory (he doesn't even consider it a common title, which should have belonged to him anyway). He is definitely not without empathy, but in an attempt to catch up with his brother's killer, he leaves Sonya with a wounded Jax in her arms. He openly demands that Shao Kahn arrange a fight with Scorpion for him, although he must understand perfectly well that Shao Kahn is a powerful ruler, and the colosseum is located in the very heart of his empire. And it is very dangerous to make demands on the emperor of the Outside World in such conditions. And he doesn't care about that. His goal is revenge for his brother. If Kuai's motivation is false, then to whom and what does he want to prove? Who does he want to fool with this? Why would he pretend? Logically, he is blinded by grief, too young and reckless, and it seems to him that killing Scorpion will at least calm his grief and pain a little. It can be said that he really loved Bi Han (as much as it was possible in the conditions of their growing up, of course), because people take revenge for those they love.

Kuai Liang's biography in MK9. What is in the original, what is in our localization says the same thing - abducted, unlike other members of the clan. (we don't want to waste time installing MK9 right now to take one screenshot, so a photo from the screen may well be suitable).

Summarizing this block and responding to the last paragraph, which talks about people who considered Kuai MK9-11 to be kind and forgiving, we can only say that the fans really greatly distort Kuai's character, excessively whitewashing and softening his character. But Kuai is really not that kind of person - his personality has both positive and negative traits. He was not forgiving. The only time he showed strange mercy was when he let Frost, who knew the location of Lin Kuei Temple, leave. The scriptwriters could fix this by saying that Frost escaped on her own, and was not expelled.

But on the other hand, the statement that MK1 made Kuai a completely different character is also true. And then we will try to explain why.

Next @evilbihan provides an analysis of the dialogues of Kuai and other characters in MKX and MK11. And before we start talking about this, the most important clarification is that not all dialogues are canon. Usually people understand this, but we'll explain why just in case. Not all of them occur in canonical events (almost all of them occur in non-canonical events, to be honest). It can be assumed that the characters met off-screen before or after the events of the game. But, for example, in the MKX, the Revenant variations open up unique dialogues for a number of characters. Jax the Revenant has a unique intro with Takeda and Cassie, although he was healed before Cage was born (and probably Takeda too). Not to mention guest characters, characters who died in or before the plot, or mirror matches. That is, the characters could not meet, these dialogues could not happen, which means that there is a precedent for non-canonical dialogue. This in turn means that the canonicity of all dialogues is not absolute and it is completely wrong to believe them. The dialogues, which are strange and simply contradict the logic of the plot and just logic, can not be considered canonical completely. Nevertheless, this scheme mainly works for MKX and MK11, but MK1 claims to be more canonical intro. However, we will not yet claim that everything intro in MK1 is canon, because there are precedents for non-canonical events (the multiplicity of the canon is a separate topic, and we hate MK1 for its laziness and mediocrity).

About Scarlett: Kuai calls her a "perversion" because Scarlett is an artificial creation of Shao Kahn. Even if a different version of Scarlett is presented to us in MK11, for Kuai Liang she is still the same person that Shao created from blood. In MK9, she is a golem, in the MKX comic, she tells Mileena the phrase "I am the same "daughter" of Shao Kahn as you, half-breed", confirming her artificial birth. This is also confirmed by her ability to absorb blood through her skin (D'vorah says that she is aware of her abilities, so this cannot be attributed to learning blood magic from Reiko). In MK11, she says that Shao found her an orphan, but was it really? Or does she remember what Shao wanted her to remember? No one but her confirms this version. Scarlett in MK11 is obsessed with blood and longs to marry her "father", as she says in a dialogue with Sindel. She even has an equipment called "Shao Kahn's Seed". So Kuai is right in his judgment: She's a perversion.

About Jacqui's improvements: Kuai has undergone a violent transformation into a cyborg. This in itself is a cruel blow to the psyche (just read how people in reality react to trauma or a traumatic change in their body or appearance), not to mention that his mind and free will were suppressed. Kuai bluntly says that because of the CyberInitiative, he does not trust technology. He is a technophobe for quite logical reasons. At the same time, he does not call Jackie weak and does not belittle his talent, he only pays attention to the fact that she uses improvements, but there are no negative connotations in his statement.

Kuai does evaluate opponents, but from a purely practical point of view. He does not give a value judgment as a rule, but simply notes a fact or interprets a fact.

First, D'vorah is literally threatening Kuai. She is the first to say that this is their first and last meeting, making it clear that she is going to kill Kuai. What should he say to that? Be happy? This phrase has nothing to do with Kuai's words in MK1 about lower species, there is literally nothing in common here. Secondly, it is partly xenophobia. And you may be unhappy with this fact, but in the MK setting, xenophobia is justified, because there people are forced to deal with creatures that are mentally and biologically different from human beings and literally pose a danger. MK has never been smart enough to suggest a method of resolving differences between the races of humans and, for example, Tarkatans, let alone everyone else. Thirdly, the two above phrases are in no way similar to Bi Han's words about tarkatans. What kind of "elitist" worldview are you talking about if Bi Han literally expresses an adequate point of view regarding Tarkatans? They are dangerous. They are sick, they turn into bloodthirsty creatures who cannot control themselves. They're still eating other living things. There is no effective medicine yet, only something that relieves the symptoms. And it is available only to Mileena, who in the plot just showed that tarkata affects not only physically, but also mentally. Yes, these are living beings, and Bi Han's point of view is radical, but tarkata is like a mixture of schizophrenia and anthrax (or plague, if you like). It's not "elitist" thinking, it's damn common sense. And this cannot be tied in any way to Kuai MK1's words about "lower species" or to a response to a direct threat.

Tarkata is one of the cancerous tumors of this plot (ironically), and there are many problems and understatements associated with it. But we will talk about this in more detail in some other post. And now let's be brief.

NRS tried to show an allusion to AIDS, but in the end they created a really difficult topic that would not be discussed properly in the plot. It's easier to pretend that Tarkatans are just sick people who can integrate into society. But they can't. Bi Han expresses a radical point of view, but it is not without meaning. Yes, it would be more merciful to provide them with comfortable isolation and allow them to depart from the other world humanely (they die from tarkata, as we know from the plot). The creation of some kind of closed hospices would be an option, but Edenia does not have it. It turns out to be interesting. Bi Han, with his rather sane approach, is considered a cruel bastard because of this phrase, but the merciful Sindel, who simply exiled sick subjects to the wilderness, where they had to die of disease and starvation, who took care of creating a cure only when her daughter became infected, is kind in this plot.

No, it literally proves nothing, because it's not even some kind of specific formulation in a specific situation. And they literally talk about different things. Here, friend, you keep stretching the owl around the globe.

The use of the same words in different situations (and approximately the same ones too) does not mean similarity of views. Because, you know, dictionaries tend to be limited.

(By the way, here Kuai literally shows that he is not very good at the history of his native world, because in the history of the Earthrealm there were at least Mongols - a nomadic people who built a fairly large state. That's a strange remark. MK11 dialogues seem like a neural network was writing, to be honest.)

As we said above, no one but Scarlett herself confirms this version. For Kuai, she is still considered a golem, as in MK9 and the MKX comic. Besides, Scarlett is his enemy. They are literally on opposite sides of the barricades. Scarlett faithfully serves the one who longs to enslave the Earthrealm, and who has already made attempts before, which led to the fall of Lin Kuei, to the cybernization of Kuai, to the invasion of the Earthrealm and many victims. Scarlett is an enemy of the Earthrealm, and Kuai does not care about her marital status. Why should he care at all? Moreover, why should he be polite or sympathetic to a crazy lady who is asking to join his clan, even though he didn't even invite her? It is not quite correct to compare it with MK1 and Tomas. But Bi Han does not reproach him for being an orphan, he only says that Tomas is not Lin Kuei by blood. That's all. He's actually right, Tomas is adopted.

Just what is the logic of this claim anyway? Scarlett and Kuai interact only within the framework of an open confrontation, they have no other points of contact. Scarlett is one hundred percent the enemy for the Earthrealm and for Kuai. And Kuai protects his world, he's like a soldier on duty. He shouldn't be interested in the life of some random blood witch and sympathize with her. It's like blaming all the characters for not wanting to understand Shao Kahn or anyone else. And don't pretend that Scarlett is better. She literally tortured Jade in the plot and did it with pleasure, she is not some unfortunate hero worthy of sympathy.

Correction: Frost joined the clan when Shirai Ryu was considered to have been re-exterminated by the hands of Havik (who possessed Fox). Frost joined the clan when the clan was just trying to start existing again. Frankly speaking, it is completely unclear where she got so much respect for the traditions of the clan, which she did not know before, and for Bi Han, whom she had never met. We are not going to say for sure, but it is much more likely that Frost was influenced by someone from the old Lin Kuei staff (because they could have survived and escaped from the CyberInitiative). Because Kuai has definitely been making the decision to reconcile with Shirai Ryu for a while. And yes, Frost hasn't really established herself as a decent character. Throughout its history, it has desired power and strength that it could not handle. Besides, if we turn to dialogues here, then in one of them Kuai asks if he was a bad mentor, to which Frost says that he was a hindrance. That is, she had plans to take Kuai's place during her studies, BEFORE alliance with Shirai Ryu (because after her escapade, she was expelled). The only complaint against Kuai Liang here is that he did not kill Frost. He let go of a man who is clearly unkind and who knows about the secret location of the Lin Kuei Temple. This could be solved with one correction from the screenwriters - the phrase that Frost ran away on her own.

Maybe (just maybe!) our localization is a little different, but Fujin is not saying that Kuai wants to kill his brother. He's asking about it.

Oh, yes. He also asks a question in the original.

The lie here is to claim that Kuai did not want his brother to be reborn. Bi Han is reborn like the rest of the revenants and probably cannot be healed without Quan Chi's presence (by the way, later in the post you refer to the need for Quan Chi's presence and the fact that his death essentially put an end to the return of enslaved champions). Kuai was lucky that Raiden's magic worked at a specific moment in a specific way. How lucky both Hanzo and Jax are. It was further stated that Quan Chi must be alive to save the Revenants. And Bi Han is a revenant.

Besides, Kuai has no reason to hold on to the title of Sub-Zero, because it gives nothing but danger. He is not useful, he is not honorable (five generations of Sub-Zero before him were murderers and made enemies). He does this because there is no one to transfer the title to. He wears it like as bloody chevrons, as a sign of his service to the Earthrealm.

We will not argue about the rest of the dialogues that relate to Bi Han (with Cetrion or others), or with Bi Han himself. The game acts very strangely and seems to be trying with all its might to put Kuai and Bi Han against each other as enemies. We have already written about this here and do not want to repeat it.

Since the block with rhetoric and analysis of dialogues is over, we will summarize. Kuai Liang in MKX and MK11 is a man who has been through a lot. He was kidnapped in early childhood, deprived of his family and normal growing up (we still remember about his biography MK9, which says that ONLY he and Bi Han were stolen, the rest joined voluntarily in adulthood), his brother was killed, his clan was turned into soulless iron, he himself was turned into soulless iron, he was murdered Sindel (by the way, who was resurrected by order of Shao Kahn and sent by him to massacre the champions; that is, Shao is indirectly responsible for Kuai's death, which means that his henchwoman Scarlett has even less chance of gaining any sympathy from Kuai Liang, even if she were an orphan three times). Kuai was enslaved first by the CyberInitiative, then by Quan Chi. Against his will, he participated in the invasion of the Earthrealm, and the memory of the horrors that he had committed consumed him with guilt. In the comic (which is still canon in many ways), Kuai literally talks about wanting to die. After that, he entered the service of Raiden and began to look for a Kamidogu for him, which is why he was cursed and again fell under someone else's control. Which again led to casualties. What did he say to Bo Rai Cho? "I have to do hara-kiri." The topic that Kuai is broken by these events and wants to die has been raised twice. He decided to revive the clan with the light hand of Raiden (it was Raiden who sent applicants to join Lin Kuei). In the new clan, Kuai finally finds solace, but in the end his own student, whom either out of mercy or stupidity he did not kill, breaks into the temple and kidnaps his people. Kuai has gone through a lot of traumatic events, just turning into a revenant is worth it. It took Jax years and years to suppress his PTSD, and he didn't fully recover. Kuai wants to protect his home, his homeworld. He makes claims to Ryden for not coping with his role as a defender. This is not very fair in the big picture, but Kuai saw with his own eyes the two invasions and the arrival of Shinnok. Will you say that Kuai does not want to defend the Earthrealm? Well, for some reason, it was he who led his clan to defend the Sky Temple and faced the legions of Kotal. It was Lin Kuei who took the hit and gave Cassie and her team time. Not the glorious Shirai Ryu, who just got into a fight with the special forces, messed up with their grandmaster and just disappeared without participating in the defense of the Earthly Kingdom.

There is no point in comparing Kuai MK9-11 and Kuai MK1, because the life of the second one is literally sugar. He did not survive a fraction of what Kuai Liang experienced in the previous chronology. Comparing them is like comparing a veteran and a loud cadet. Kuai in MK11 has every right to be grumpy, demanding of others and himself, suspicious of enemies and even allies. The events of his life encourage such thinking. From the height of his experience - both life and combat - he can be somewhat arrogant and proud of his skill. Because Kuai MK9-11 has a moral right to do so. Kuai-Scorpion does not have this right, he is just a loud brat who jerks off at his father and traditions (if we were Bi Han, we would evict him from the temple and issue a restraining order) Like a fucking fanatic. He doesn't have the same qualities, experience. Nothing. Even biology failed, depriving him of cryomancy. In fact, the personality of Kuai in MK1 is formed in a completely different way than that of Kuai in MK9-11. Because both the events of life (the social factor) and the biological basis are different. This is literally not the Kuai Liang we knew. This is another person who happens to have the same name.

Also completely overlooked is the fact that Kuai, in his dialogues, not only criticizes everyone and everything, but shows respect to other characters (with whom he is not in confrontation). So he suggests that Jade join Lin Kuei (probably because they have lost a significant part of their personnel and need new personnel). He recognizes Sonya's fighting spirit. He literally thanks Raiden for saving his life (although he remembers that Raiden has a dark and light state). He pays tribute to Liu Kang when he speaks about Kuai's own discipline.

Most of his statements are neutral or caustic (depending on the dialogue), Kuai shows hostility to those characters who are in confrontation with his side (the Outworlders or the Black Dragon), but nothing more.

And since we've dealt with this, we'll move on.

Kuai Liang's motives for revenge and forgiveness are actually as clear as possible when you remember that more than 20 years have passed. Why do you overlook this fact? 25 years have passed between the events of MK9 and MKX (the main plot) (Jax mentions this). Shinnok's invasion ended 25 years ago. And the reconciliation of the two clans took place five years before the events of MKX (this is stated in the plot). Kuai initially rushed to take revenge because he was blinded by grief, his pain was fresh. But then the events of MK9 happened, and now he is a former revenant, crushed by life, with the realization that he did terrible things. With a years, the thirst for revenge subsides, but the moral obligation suffocates. After all, your dear man died, how can you just let go of his death? Here we will allow ourselves to say that the motives of revenge are close to us because of personal experience. That's why we know what we're talking about. To come to terms with loss is, among other things, to let go of the thirst for revenge, to get rid of a destructive moral obligation. Kuai has had at least 20 years to think about it. Scorpion's death will not bring his brother back to him, will not soothe his pain. He believed that Bi Han was lost forever. He must continue to live, which means that he needed to put an end to a long-standing and senseless feud, especially considering that the real culprit is Quan Chi. It is he who must be punished.

To claim that Kuai was indirectly involved in the deaths of other Revenants is a clear misconception. Because, first of all, Kuai needed to give himself the moral right to end the senseless clan feud. Secondly, to protect your clan from a new conflict with Shirai Ryu. And third, damn it, this conversation (in which Hanzo found out the truth) took place five years before Quan Chi was captured. Five years! It's a long time. The fact that Hanzo has not thought with his own head in these five years is only Hanzo's problem. Should Kuai have foreseen this years in advance? He has enough headaches of his own, and at that moment he didn't know Hanzo well enough to anticipate his actions. Hanzo Hasashi is the only one to blame for what happened. It was he who decided to attack the special forces, not listen to anyone and cut off the sorcerer's head. No one pushed him to do this except himself, although literally everyone around told him to wait. Hanzo has shown himself to be a stubborn ass who doesn't know how to listen.

The scene of the conversation and the conclusion of peace between Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu (chapter 9 "Scorpion").

Quan Chi has not been seen since the invasion was stopped. Sonya and Jax talk about it here (Chapter 8 "Jackson Briggs")

The same thing is in the Sony chapter (chapter 5 "Sonya Blade")

The claims that Kuai reorganized the clan just to elevate himself are simply taken out of thin air. Because although Kuai Liang is deservedly proud of his skills, there is not a single objective sign that would indicate that your statements about him are true. Where did this statement about him being narcissistic come from? Selfish? Kuai literally has no other life, he has put all his remaining years to protect the Earthrealm and hunt the scum within it (as he tells Kano). What is the selfishness here? What does he get besides constant pressure?

Perhaps there is reason to believe that Kuai wanted to put an end to Lin Kuei's dark legacy, but then again-who wouldn't? He talks a lot about honor, because he saw with his own eyes how dishonor and betrayal (the actions of the last Grand Master of the clan) led to the downfall of not only Lin Kuei, but also to larger tragic consequences. This is not selfishness, not a desire to "giving themselves a pet on the back." This is common sense and awareness of mistakes and their consequences.

Where did you get this from? The intros above do not suggest this in any way. Friend, it seems that you believed in what you came up with about the character. Kuai Liang strives for iron discipline, because he is well aware of how much damage has been done to him by the events of his life. And if he lets himself get weak, he'll just break down. And if he breaks down, who will stand at the head of Lin Kuei? Who will join the ranks of the defenders of the Earthrealm? As a responsible soldier, Kuai cannot hang a weapon on the wall because he is tired. And we have already cited above what confirms our thought (his sad experience, his desire to avoid repetition, the moral test that Kuai went through, etc.).

In addition, Kuai's envy of his brother (which is in no way confirmed by the game itself and other media) can only be said that many people would envy Bi Han, since he was really talented. It is said about him that he mastered in his youth what other cryomancers before him mastered only in old age. But again, this does not indicate Kuai's envy of his brother. There is not a single confirmation of this statement.

The whole subsequent text to the end of the block seems completely insane. To claim that Kuai was the only one who constantly survived, not because the writers wanted it, but because… for some other reason. The only reason is the desire of the screenwriters. Or perhaps an outright misunderstanding of what to do with the characters of Hanzo and Kuai (and many others). Where should they be placed? They look more like a reference in MK11 and MKX than full-fledged characters. Okay, Hanzo has more plot weight because he's the creator's favorite. But everything else is just a weak plot, not the character's fault or intention. There is literally no place to analyze him as a living person, because Kuai appears only functionally in the plot. Well, maybe the studio hates him because so much shit has fallen on this particular character. He was enslaved three times, his family and friends are almost completely dead. It is wrong to say that he did nothing to bring Smoke back, because, as we remember, Quan Chi is needed to revive the revenant, there is no proven scheme, Quan Chi himself has been hiding for twenty-five years, and collectively the chances of revival are negligible. Personal aspirations are on one side of the scale, on the other is a job that will provide the homeworld with another faction of defenders. Kuai, who has gone through the horrors of two invasions, obviously will not choose personal aspirations. In addition, Smoke does not appear in the final chapters of MKX (only in flashbacks from the time of Shinnok's invasion), and it is unknown where he is. With Quan Chi's death, he can be considered completely lost (the rest of the Revenants are considered lost for the same reason, and there is no problem with that). And the fact that Bi Han survived in Soulnado was not known at all before the events of MK11. He was believed to be dead. Who should Kuai be trying to bring back? Ghostly shadows of long-gone loved ones? Prefer the dead to the living?

We can agree that Kuai's behavior in the intro and his ending are collectively confusing because they somehow contradict each other. But here you can find a dubious, but time-bound explanation. Considering that in all intros the Kronika is mentioned as still alive and active, it can be concluded that these fights and dialogues, respectively, take place in parallel with the plot of MK11. Which lasts… How much? A couple of days? In this light, it can be assumed that all of Kuai's strange reactions in the dialogues are either a defensive reaction, or simply the result of AI work (seriously, sometimes one part of these dialogues is not connected to another).

Oh, right, rhetoric again.

These dialogues are not connected in any way at all. There are only two identical words here that don't apply in the same context. This is not a common lexicon in this case and not the same specific reaction to the situation. These are literally different dialogues. And here you are really engaged in unfair interpretation.

We have already written about this above and we will not repeat it.

A fair comparison, however, the different circumstances that lead to this phrase. Bi Han in MK1 encourages Kitana to be more independent. Kuai in MK11 wants to get a valuable fighter into the ranks of his clan to protect his world. They use similar words, but in different situations and for different purposes.

Here we can agree on the similarity by about half (due to the difference in circumstances, and therefore the messages themselves).

We repeat that Kuai Liang in MK9-11 literally caught two invasions and the return of Shinnok. The latter happened because Raiden's Shinnok amulet, which he was supposed to protect, was stolen. That is, Raiden actually failed at his job. Yes, in the end, all three events ended well, but Kuai, as a man who laid down his life to protect his world and serve its interests, has reason to be angry at Raiden for his mistakes.

In MK1, Bi Han denies Liu Kang's authority for reasons that are still unclear. Bi Han wants more, but what does this have to do with Liu Kang? We, as players, know what Liu's mistakes are, but Bi Han doesn't know that. At the same time, we do not know why Bi Han is so fiercely against Liu's authority (he literally tells Kenshi, "give him time and you will understand," hinting that his dislike has some deeper reasons, but we do not know about them yet). It is also incorrect to compare these dialogues. We think there is no need to explain the reasons. Their context is strikingly different.

How is Kuai Liang considered the "good brother" when they both use the same vocabulary and share the same views?

The fact that they use similar words, but in different contexts, can only mean that they speak the same language, and not that their views are somehow close to each other.

Making such a statement is like saying that if a conditional user uses the words "cosmopolitan", "economy", "corridor" and "carte blanche" in his speech, then this makes his views close to one notorious Austrian artist who used the same words in his speech in 1939.

This is absurd and meaningless.

Yes, people say that because Bi Han literally demonstrates the character traits and biographies of Frost and Sector. He's not the best version of Kuai, he's not even a pale version of himself. He is a lazily written man who, in modern works, must be evil simply because. Bi Han in the old chronology was really interesting for his tragedy. He never wanted to be a part of the clan, he had no choice in this matter, in the original MK1 (literally in the very first game) in his ending, he leaves the clan because he doesn't need it all. His life was taken away cruelly and unfairly, he was just a man in thrall to circumstances, he was not shy about being sharp-tongued. After all, Bi Han from the past chronology, with his tragedy both during his lifetime and after his death, is many times more interesting than the piece of evil cardboard that Bi Han was turned into in MK1.

We will not stop at the fact that the decision to make Kuai a Scorpion is disgusting. We will not argue with this, because it is pointless to argue with the truth. Is he the best Sub-Zero? At least he was interesting, one of the few who really developed and changed as a character. As a result, his entire progression, motivation, and personality foundations were rewritten. Kuai Liang, whom we respected, although in some places we condemned, simply ceased to be. We hope that the NRS will choke on their money and never touch this story again.

And now to the comments that were posted. They are too small, so we want to answer in more detail here.

We literally took apart your entire post from beginning to end, not touching only what concerned Kuai MK1, because we want he burns in hell. And we still say that you are trying to substitute concepts. Their vocabulary is in no way similar (for the reasons we mentioned above). And as we have already noted, Kuai Liang MK9-11 grew up in different conditions than Bi Han MK1.

Lin Kuei himself is obviously different in different versions. If in MK1 we understand that this is closer to the traditional clan, which is connected by blood (both parents were in the clan, there is an opportunity to form a family, Bi Han refers to Lin Kuei's blood), then the early versions of Lin Kuei are more like the cult of assassins, who are united by the desire for influence - political, material and td. What kind of parenting with the idea of superiority are you talking about in the framework of MK9-11, if we have already found out that Kuai and Bi Han were abducted as children, and all the other members of the clan joined him. The biography of the Sector in MK9 literally says that there was no doubt that the Sector, being the son of a Grandmaster, would join the clan. Cyrex joined the clan as an adult, and previously he was from among the Tswana and trained among the warriors of his people. Tomas is from Prague and was also recruited at a fairly conscious age, because he attracted attention with his abilities. His exact age has not been named, but it is said that he does not remember his childhood, which means that he was hardly a child at the time of recruitment. Based on this, Bi Han and Kuai Liang are the only children who were raised in the clan. This means that there was no general idealogical system for education (we don't know much about Lin Kuei at all, but the Grandmaster decided to make everyone cyborgs for absolute submission, so we can assume that there were precedents for disobedience). The clan system in MK1, although it requires following orders, does not threaten death. But in MK9-11 (for which Mythology is still canonical), the mistake is inexcusable. Bi Han bluntly says that his failure or disobedience would mean his death at the hands of his own clan. Lin Kuei's in old chronology is a violent militarized cult, not a family. Yes, it is possible that one bloodline is present there, but it is needed only because of the special abilities (cryomancy) that give the clan an advantage.

See the difference? This already denies the possibility for Kuai MK9-11 and Bi Han MK1 to grow in the same conditions. Hell, even Bi Han MK9-11 and Bi Han MK1 are different people because of their different upbringing and different life experiences. We think that it makes no sense to explain that a personality is formed on the basis of a biological basis (psychophysiological features) and social impact, life experience. With a difference in life experience, different personalities are formed. It is for this reason that we consider the ending of the Scorpion invasion to be simply insulting and sad. The very concept of multiple timelines essentially contradicts the concept of personality. But this is such a truism that it makes no sense to explain it. In MK1, people have the same names and partially similar biography elements. And this already means, in fact, that Mileena, Kitana, Raiden, Lao, Bi Han and all the others are not the same ones we saw in previous games. These are literally other people.

[alligator-with-a-top-hat]

Gonna meditate on Ridley’s importance to the Metroid series, edited from comments I made on a video about him. After some thought, it’s clear to me that every appearance of his after the first ties him strongly to the theme of each individual game. Analysis under the cut, in in-game chronological order.

Zero Mission's whole premise is being a new spin on a familiar story, showing us things we never thought about in the NES game. Zero Mission's cutscenes show him commanding the Pirate Mothership and deliberately tracking Samus down. His robotic double, Mecha Ridley, is the new final boss stopping her escape from Pirate patrols. It's an organized, calculating side to the Pirates never seen before in the 2D games. The game is about insight into the past, and we gain insight through Ridley.

Prime is about respecting our history and the dangers of wasteful exploitation. Ridley is the face of the Pirates on Tallon IV as they discover and abuse Phazon, and his opening salvo in his boss battle is to bomb the Artifact Temple. However, the Phazon hurts the Pirates as much as it hurts their enemies, and the boss battle ends with the statues of the ancient Chozo blowing Ridley away in violent, laser-y retribution. The game is about destructive exploitation, and Ridley shows what happens to those who go too far for power.

Corruption is about the corruption of the body and spirit by violence, as represented by toxic Phazon. At the beginning, Ridley is his crafty old self, hounding Samus on Norion and forcing her into a boss fight he knows she cannot escape on her own when he knocks her into the generator shaft. But at the end of the game, he reappears, corrupted by Phazon, as an animalistic guardian of the leviathan seed on the Pirate Homeworld, little better than a guard dog. It parallels Samus' own journey as she is corrupted by Phazon, put on a leash by the Federation, and forced to kill those like her. The game is about corruption, and Ridley shows the end of those taken by the corruption.

Samus Returns is like Zero Mission in that it is about shedding new light on an old story, but it goes deeper than that. Samus sparing the Metroid hatchling is the single most important decision in the series, so it's no surprise that the remake should have Ridley -- whose most famous moment in the manga was making the opposite decision in regards to Samus -- appear to try and tear them apart. His appearance also foreshadows his role in Super Metroid, and putting aside the change in tone from the original Metroid II, his appearance gives Samus and the baby Metroid a chance to develop their bond in a way that had mostly been told, not shown. The game is about Samus' moment of mercy, and Ridley is there to see if she can really do it.

Super Metroid is about Samus and the baby Metroid's bond. Samus throws her plans away to recapture the baby Metroid, and in the end it sacrifices its life to save her. Lo and behold, Ridley is the one who separates them, and when she kills him, she finds only the broken Metroid capsule, a tantalizing clue that brings her no closer to the baby Metroid. The game is about what matters to Samus, and Ridley is the one who takes it all from her.

Other M is a game about nothing. Samus does not impact the plot in any significant way because other people sideline her and handle the plot for her. Ironically, Ridley still fits this theme -- he appears as a cloned baby to annoy and distract Samus, has a boss battle that makes no sense in context, and finally is eaten by a poorly foreshadowed Queen Metroid and never comes up again. The game is stupid and Ridley is handled stupidly.

Fusion is about identity and the past. Everything is flipped upside down when Samus is infected by an X parasite, loses everything, and discovers that the monster trying to kill her is, essentially, her. The power of the Metroids, her eternal enemy, becomes the key to her success and survival. In an important scene, the Federation, which Samus has trusted since her Zero Mission, is revealed to have recreated the Metroids. Immediately after this upsetting revelation about an entity she has worked for for years, who does she encounter in the Federation's facility? That's right, Ridley, who has even been possessed by an X parasite as if to mock her situation.

It's not all bad, though. Fusion is the game where Samus finishes Ridley for good (seeing as he doesn’t return for Dread), and fittingly enough she finally comes to terms with part of her past when she reconnects with ADAM. It's a game about the past. Ridley is that past, and Samus finally puts him behind her.

Ridley is so special not just because of his cunning nature and terrifying brutality, but also because of how neatly he fits into the puzzle of Samus' life. He’s a relentless phantom that embodies the violence she cannot escape. He represents everything Samus must overcome to finally find that "true peace in space" from the NEStroid end screen.

Thanks guys 👋

[preztee]

Shenko (And Its Many Variations)

So, I've been replaying the Mass Effect trilogy. In regards to my "canon run", I've been torn between my Male Shepard and my Female Shepard. Their romances with Kaidan both have their pros and cons, and I can't quite decide which one clicks for me. Literally, I made a personal pros and cons list and I still can't decide.

But, this also means I've been a little unwell in the head test trying different scenarios with both Shepards. This post is meant to document my findings and hopefully help out anyone who might want to romance Kaidan, but doesn't know how they want to go about it.

Disclaimer: This post will talk about the vanilla, un-modded Mass Effect trilogy. I play on console, so I tragically do not have the luxury of the Nexus! This is for anyone who plays vanilla or plays on console like me! If you're on PC, and if none of the options below suit you, there is probably a mod that can help you out!

To begin, Shenko is very flexible. There are several variations, and it can easily be sculpted to the preferences of the player. First of all, Kaidan is bisexual, and can be romanced by both Male Shepard and Female Shepard. So, you got those options. You want a slowburn? Yeah, you can avoid romancing anyone until you run into Kaidan again in Mass Effect 3. You want the angsty forbidden love, "we never officially broke up, but we're not really together right now, it's COMPLICATED" dynamic, then yeah! You can get that too! With this in mind, I will be splitting up this post in terms of their different, possible dynamics, and the restrictions that come with each Shepard.

The Slow Burn Dynamic

Kaidan is one of three original companions whose romance can be initiated in Mass Effect 3. If Kaidan has not been romanced in Mass Effect 1, then Shenko becomes more of an angsty slow burn. There are unspoken feelings, lost time... waiting to romance Kaidan in the last game of the series is just as tragic as the other Shenko variations. The only difference is that their feelings were never expressed until the world was ending.

The Slow Burn Dynamic - Male Shepard

In the vanilla game, this is the default dynamic for Male Shepard and Kaidan. He can only be romanced in Mass Effect 3. However, it does not hurt the ship any. With a slow burn in mind, Male Shepard is allowed to talk freely with Kaidan in Mass Effect 1 without accidentally triggering his romance, and without being forced to be rude or turn him down. While it's messed up Kaidan wasn't a romance option for Male Shepard in the first game, we can still take the good from the bad - especially in the context of a slow burn.

Male Shepard's dialogue with Kaidan is a bit more dry in Mass Effect 1. However, a Female Shepard going for a slow burn will also wind up on the same dialogue path as a Male Shepard.

A Shepard on the slow burn path will notice that a lot of Kaidan's dialogue and scenes still seem somewhat... charged. If you haven't romanced anyone, Kaidan will be the companion who interacts with Shepard in Mass Effect 2's prologue, he will still be used to get to Shepard by the Collectors, he will still say losing Shepard felt like losing a limb... there's a lot of goodies to be discovered.

To initiate a slow burn romance with Kaidan as a Male Shepard, you must:

Save Kaidan on Virmire (duh).

Ensure you haven't triggered the romance for any other character by the point of Mass Effect 3. This will lock you out of Kaidan's romance otherwise. I'd recommend not romancing anyone else in the previous two games for the feel of it all, but that is ultimately up to you and your Shepard.

Buy Kaidan the bottle of whiskey while he's in the hospital, exhaust all dialogue with him, and visit whenever you get an email from him.

Avoid killing him during the confrontation and invite him back on the Normandy. Talk to him after every mission.

Meet up with him on the Citadel and return his feelings.

-

PROS

There is zero effort required to initiate the slow burn. This is the default state. You will not have to be rude or turn him down in Mass Effect 1.

Kaidan's confession at Apollo's is much more sweet with Male Shepard than it is with Female Shepard due to him being more shy and roundabout in addressing the slow burn. After all this time, indeed...

CONS

Ashley is the character who approaches the beacon on Eden Prime, meaning Male Shepard will not have the opportunity to push Kaidan out of the way and talk to him after the mission.

Kaidan does not hold or kiss Male Shepard's hand while at Apollo's.

Said scene with Kaidan is also cut short in comparison to the one with Female Shepard. A lot of dialogue is cut and it immediately jumps to their sex scene, rather than allowing for Male Shepard to request that they merely cuddle (which Female Shepard CAN do).

The Slow Burn Dynamic - Female Shepard

This is where things get a little tricky. While mostly similar to Male Shepard's, if you're playing as a Female Shepard and want her romance with Kaidan to be a slow burn, you'll have to follow a few specific steps when it comes to Mass Effect 1.

It is notoriously easy to prematurely romance Kaidan as a Female Shepard. Thankfully, there is one specific line of dialogue where you can abort the romance early on.

To initiate a slow burn romance with Kaidan as a Female Shepard, you must:

[True Slow Burn] When talking to Kaidan after the first hearing, you unfortunately must shut him down. This is the only way to avoid Kaidan letting on about his feelings for Female Shepard (aside from outright ignoring him!). When he apologizes for getting informal, choose the bottom-right option: Just be ready.

OR

[OPTIONAL: Turned Down, Followed By a Slow Burn] You can be nice to Kaidan after the first meeting, but this will also mean Kaidan will outwardly ask Female Shepard if he's getting mixed signals or not. You can abort a romance with him by gently turning him down.

Save Kaidan on Virmire (duh).

Ensure you haven't triggered the romance for any other character by the point of Mass Effect 3. This will lock you out of Kaidan's romance otherwise. I'd recommend not romancing anyone else in the previous two games for the feel of it all, but that is ultimately up to you and your Shepard.

Buy Kaidan the bottle of whiskey while he's in the hospital, exhaust all dialogue with him, and visit whenever you get an email from him.

Avoid killing him during the confrontation and invite him back on the Normandy. Talk to him after every mission.

Meet up with him on the Citadel and return his feelings.

-

PROS

Kaidan is the character who approaches the beacon on Eden Prime, meaning Female Shepard WILL have the opportunity to push Kaidan out of the way and talk to him after the mission. You can talk to him freely in this conversation, just not the one after the first hearing.

Kaidan will hold and kiss Female Shepard's hand while at Apollo's.

The scene before they attack Cerberus' base with Kaidan is not altered in anyway. There is additional dialogue, and Female Shepard can ask that they merely cuddle instead of have sex. Kaidan is the only love interest in the whole game who will not leave when Shepard asks for this.

[ASEXUAL SHEPARD] Kaidan's slow burn route for a Female Shepard is the only one where you can avoid sex without any consequences (like a character breaking up, leaving the room, or incorrectly claiming they did sleep together). In both the Citadel DLC and in the scene mentioned above, Female Shepard can choose to cuddle with Kaidan and he will be totally fine and happy with this.

CONS

You have to be careful talking to him in Mass Effect 1 if you want a slow burn. Either you'll be forced to be somewhat rude to him (and miss out on a good chunk of his first conversation mentioning Rahna), or you'll have to outright reject him. This does, however, work out well with a Shepard who starts off very formal and cold but defrosts over the course of the plot.

Kaidan's confession at Apollo's is a little bit more generic and blunt than his confession to a Male Shepard.

The Angsty Forbidden Love, "We Never Officially Broke Up, But We're Not Really Together Right Now, It's COMPLICATED" Dynamic

In contrast to a slow burn, one can choose to romance Kaidan in Mass Effect 1. This section will be shorter, since it is unfortunately impossible to romance Kaidan as a Male Shepard in the first game. Without mods, anyways, but that's not what this post is about. There will also be a lack of a pros and cons section, since there is no Male Shepard version of the romance to compare it to. And I won't be comparing this dynamic to the slow burn dynamic because there are no objective pros or cons. Just preferences!

Actually, the only objective pro is that Kaidan's dialogue with a Female Shepard who has not turned his advances down is a lot better and more full of character.

This version of Shenko has very high ups and very low downs! And, of course, many different outcomes. It's the forbidden love in Mass Effect 1. The drama of the Horizon encounter in Mass Effect 2. Kaidan's letter to Shepard. Their reunion in Mass Effect 3. "Don't 'Kaidan' me!"

To initiate an Angsty Forbidden Love, "We Never Officially Broke Up, But We're Not Really Together Right Now, It's COMPLICATED," romance with Kaidan as a Female Shepard, you must:

Talk to Kaidan after every mission in Mass Effect and take all of the kind and flirty dialogue options. Whenever Kaidan asks if he's overstepping, tell him he isn't.

Avoid romancing Liara; you must turn down her advances.

Save Kaidan on Virmire (duh).

Accept Kaidan's company before arriving to Ilos.

You can romance someone else in Mass Effect 2, but I would recommend against it as Kaidan's dialogue is sweeter in Mass Effect 3 if you don't. Again, preferences though! You might like that drama!

Ensure you haven't locked in the romance for any other character by the point of Mass Effect 3.

Buy Kaidan the bottle of whiskey while he's in the hospital, exhaust all dialogue with him, and visit whenever you get an email from him.

Avoid killing him during the confrontation and invite him back on the Normandy. Talk to him after every mission.

Meet up with him on the Citadel and renew your feelings.

-

There are also other options, of course. Like not getting back together with him. Not getting with him at all. Letting him die on Virmire. Shooting him during the confrontation. But, these are more self explanatory!

I hope this wall of text was helpful, or at least enjoyable to read! I might have missed something, so if there's any other fun facts you want to share, please feel free to add them! Or ask me any questions! Have fun hunting for that Canadian booty!

[waitmyturtles]

Turtles Catches Up With Old GMMTV: A Tale of Thousand Stars Loving Rewatch Edition

[What’s going on here? After joining Tumblr and discovering Thai BLs through KinnPorsche in 2022, I began watching GMMTV’s new offerings -- and realized that I had a lot of history to catch up on, to appreciate the more recent works that I was delving into. From tropes to BL frameworks, what we’re watching now hails from somewhere, and I’m learning about Thai BL's history through what I’m calling the Old GMMTV Challenge (OGMMTVC). Starting with recommendations from @absolutebl on their post regarding how GMMTV is correcting for its mistakes with its shows today, I’ve made an expansive list to get me through a condensed history of essential/classic/significant Thai BLs produced by GMMTV and many other BL studios. My watchlist, pasted below, lists what I’ve watched and what’s upcoming, along with the reviews I’ve written so far. Today, I write about my LOVING rewatch of one of the best BLs out there, ever, in A Tale of Thousand Stars.]

While I’ve been in the midst of a plethora of awesome new shows (Only Friends, Dangerous Romance), I’ve also been treating myself with some oldies. I just wrapped up a rewatch of Until We Meet Again, to prep for New Siwaj’s Absolute Zero that’s coming out this fall. And one of the joys that I set for myself in the course of structuring the Old GMMTV Challenge was to allow myself some loving rewatches of shows that I originally first consumed out of any chronological order, and/or out of total curiosity for the amount of space they generally take up on a daily basis on Tumblr, and/or for the amount of times that I had seen these particular shows listed as top examples of genre-defining or genre-transcending BLs. Those shows include Bad Buddy (of course), and A Tale of Thousand Stars.

Way, WAY back in the day -- November 2022, to be exact -- just a couple months into my joining Tumblr and actively blogging, I realized that this show called Moonlight Chicken was being bandied about excitedly, mostly in part because EarthMix and FirstKhao were going to be in it. I was intrigued, excited to participate in my first active Tumblr fandom from beginning to end, and I asked the Tumblr gods -- oh hey, should I watch A Tale of Thousand Stars first, to get to know Earth Pirapat and Mix Sahaphap first? And the answer was YES, so I did, and I totally loved it.

And of course, I look back at that review from almost a year ago, and I giggle, because while I picked up on a lot of the raw elements that make ATOTS great, I didn't have ANY context for why the show was transcendent vis à vis pre-existing BL tropes in the Thai BL genre, what it meant to be watching a classic Backaof Noppharnach show, what it meant for the show to be set in Northern Thailand, etc. I even wrote -- oh wow, I see why some of the elders on Tumblr are saying that there are shows way better than KinnPorsche out there (LOL, oh, hindsight). I didn't have any of that context.

Now, I do. And during my recent ATOTS rewatch, I just ATE, ATE, ATE, oh my god, I just sat and fucking ENJOYED this FABULOUS drama. I was yelling and gesturing to the screen -- oh god, WHY are you SO GOOD, YOU SHOW, YOU?! Man, oh man. It was a shit-ton of fun to start rewatching dramas that I already have nostalgia for, even if I only saw them for the first time last year.

Besides rewatching some of these important dramas back in chronological order through the OGMMTVC, I also have a mission in mind: to properly rewatch ATOTS and Bad Buddy before rewatching Our Skyy 2, which I've been wanting to do for a while. That rewatch will take place after I rewatch Bad Buddy in a couple of weeks. And I'm glad I waited until I could consume Aof's entire oeuvre, because I think his whole slate of shows -- not just ATOTS and BBS -- give us clues as to what was happening by way of Pat and Pran's relationship in OS2 before their physical separation in BBS that further explain the ATOTS and BBS universes. But more on this in a few weeks, when I get to my BBS and OS2 reviews.

Back to ATOTS. As I rewatched it -- in the context of the OGMMTVC, and what I've learned about the Thai television BL genre NOW, what were the elements of this show that stood out the most for me?

1) The striking use of flashbacks to tell a story. I know NOW shows that haven't used flashbacks as well to tell a compelling narrative -- for me, most recently, the biggest example is Double Savage (and maybe even KinnPorsche goes up there, too). Before ATOTS premiered, I think the BL that used flashbacks the BEST in its narrative was Until We Meet Again, which *needed* flashbacks to tell the entire scope of its intricate story, from past to present.

Something that I forgot about ATOTS until my rewatch was how very PACED the show was. I think I had it in my head that it was a slow-ish story, because -- again, it bucked a lot of BL trends and tropes, just like He's Coming To Me also did. No side couples. No university setting. No warring faculties and uniforms. When I first wrote about ATOTS in December 2022 -- after having watched The Eclipse as my first GMMTV BL -- I marveled at the singular storyline of Tian's life change and journey. There was a LOT we needed to know about Tian to GET where he was going, and where he wanted to go. What I didn't appreciate back then was how Aof TOLD the story.

Sure -- it could have frustrated some folks that we didn't get the truth of who was driving the car until much later in the series. But that would be missing the point of that piece of truth. Tian had blamed himself for Torfun's death the second he learned about it. It didn't *quite* matter who was driving the car -- what mattered was the self-blame he assigned himself to, and the journey he thought he needed to take to absolve himself of the guilt that he carried.

The structure was beyond sharp, and just INCREDIBLY compelling. Between UWMA and ATOTS, we have two tremendous dramas that flirted with VERY risky past-to-future infrastructures, and both succeeded exceedingly well.

2) Phupha and Tian's TERRIBLE communication. I'm serious! Oh my god, y'all. Did we appreciate back then how AWFUL they are at communicating? HA! Our Skyy 2 obviously emphasized this even more -- Tian himself accuses Phupha of not being open enough to tell Tian why Phupha won't meet Tian's parents.

But, holy shit, these two guys are such drama bastards. By episode 9, I had to write in my notes, in all caps: THESE ASSHOLES ARE SUCH AWFUL COMMUNICATORS. If one person wasn't angry at the other, and avoiding the other person, then something was off in their world. Tian's titchyness, Phupha's avoidance, played against each other like opposing magnets.

And yet: of course, we know WHY they are bad communicators. We know that Phupha grew up in a traditional, rural household -- one that likely wasn't welcoming to his inner truth as a queer man.

Tian grew up in a privileged and patriarchal household that disguised itself as a matriarchal household. Now THAT shit's confusing. What Tian was to do with his life, as assigned by his parents, supposedly came from his mom -- but it was his dad that enforced those rules. Who could Tian go to to talk about his own growing inner truth as well? Not to either of his parents, who both had designs on who *exactly* Tian should be by way of their own demands and outward-facing lives.

So these two men -- both of whom barely had any practice in expressing their inner truths, their raw feelings about themselves, their life situations, and each other -- are figuring out their emotional shit vis à vis each other, for the first time in their lives. And what we get, gloriously, is a whole bunch of damn hilarious drama that left me shaking my head and laughing a bunch. They were SO passive-aggressive with each other, I had to applaud EarthMix.

And through their bad communication came so many resolutions to each storyline -- the illegal merchants, the revelation of Torfun's death and the story behind it -- that what we ultimately got to see were life-defining moments for both Tian and Phupha of utter growth. The trade-off between those dramatic anguishes and the TRUE drama of the show itself -- was well worth it, and brilliantly done.

3) The metaphor of freedom. We know, now, that Bad Buddy was existing in the same world as ATOTS.

God, I LOVE what Aof pulled in Our Skyy 2 by way of the Nong Nao eye mask (Tian even wears the Nong Nao eye mask!) -- because in rewatching ATOTS, I would have NEVER clocked that Tian was talking about his own freedom through his OWN eye mask.

We know now that Tian and Pran, in their respective shows, were on their own paths to freedom -- both from demanding families that demanded that each of them comport to absolute idealistic images of what perfect sons DID in those family structures. Both Tian and Pran have overbearing mothers with complicit fathers who demand exacting obedience. And both Tian and Pran ultimately sought freedom from that pressure.

In episode 9, I clocked a message on Tian's tote bag -- I can't get a clear-enough screenshot of it (it's in the 3/4 segment), but the tote bag says, "what is the meaning of free?" All of ATOTS is based on Tian's journey to emotional freedom -- freedom from his parents' expectations, freedom from the guilt he carries from Torfun's death.

An interesting comparison to UWMA happens in episode 5, when Tian asks about his growing feelings towards Phupha: "I don't know if these feelings are mine or Torfun's." And, of course -- combine that with what Tian needs to reckon with at the cliff in episode 9, when Tian is struggling with figuring how who's life he's truly living. As Tian separates himself from his parents -- as Tian understands his needs vs. Torfun's needs -- what Tian's struggle ultimately comes down to is, who is he really living his life for? Torfun saved him, his parents bought him the transplant -- but what does that actually mean for the meaning that Tian brings to his own life, and to the lives of others, including Phupha?

What Tian ultimately realizes is that needs freedom from the influence of everyone and everything around him to gain clarity as to who HE truly is. That, to me, is the ultimate core message of ATOTS -- it is Tian's defining journey towards the freedom that only he himself can find, vis à vis Torfun, Phupha, and Pha Pun Dao.

But because Aof is so good at wrenching our hearts with every last bit of energy he’s got: he showed us that Tian was able to come to this conclusion, ultimately, through Phupha, and Phupha's love for Tian.

ATOTS is a wonderful coming-of-age story, but without the typical cheesiness that that structure can often bring. It's a story of individual and internal change that we know gets echoed, expanded, and transformed in Bad Buddy through Pran. I see now that ATOTS and Bad Buddy are Aof's deep studies of internal maturing, both told through queer revelations, through empathic love with a rock-solid partner, and through fights against oppressive societal and familial resistances to living one's full truth.

Way, way back when -- and thank goodness for the OGMMTVC for allowing me to dive into this -- Aof depicted queer men living their very robust truths in Gay OK Bangkok. As I wrote in my GOKB review, what happened after the premiere of GOKB is that Aof went to the BL genre to begin slowly changing it, to make the genre a true home for real queer revelation and introspection. Did he ever nail it in ATOTS. Did he ever expand it in BBS. Watching ATOTS felt like coming home, because once again (as in HCTM) -- Aof defied typical expectations of the genre to get honest about what an internal reality of being queer could really be like. And to do that in Thai television BL, with all the tropes and expectations the genre had created by the time of ATOTS's airing in 2021, was remarkable.

Hearing the theme song, seeing Pha Pun Dao and the villagers (AND THE CHILDREN! I LOVE THOSE CHILDREN!), seeing the schoolhouse, seeing Earth in his forest ranger uniform, hearing the original source of the forest ranger t-shirt joke, seeing Rang and Yod again -- man, was it ever nostalgic to rewatch ATOTS, even after having seen the guys in Our Skyy 2. This show is SUCH a classic, SUCH a must-watch of the very highest order, and the fact that it does NOT shy away from a very real and difficult emotional journey is only just a part of what makes it one of the enduring diamonds of Thai BL.

[We'll return to Pha Pun Dao in a couple weeks once I get through my Bad Buddy and Our Skyy 2 rewatches -- stay tuned!

In the meantime, my review of Lovely Writer is on deck for next week. By far this is my favorite Tee Bundit drama. For the sake of my fellow drama clowns, I am giving I Feel You Linger in the Air a shot, but the editing choices are giving me slight Step By Step-PTSD. I'm gonna keep a close eye on this one.

But Lovely Writer is Tee's anomaly, and what a fabulously genius anomaly it is. I can't wait to get into it, and if you loved it, too, and you have NOT watched the Lovely Writer special episode, PLEASE watch the special ep, as I'll be referring to it -- it has a super important conclusion that wraps up the entire series beautifully.

A heads-up that I may need to take a week's break or so in early September.... hopefully I won't, but I am moving, so while I'm ahead on a few dramas, getting pen to paper has proven difficult by way of time. Hopefully this project won't be delayed too much -- but send me your best big ups nonetheless as I move domiciles!

In the meantime, here's the list -- as always, I welcome your feedback! (Tumblr's new web editor is jacking with the list below and not allowing me to strikethrough the shows I've watched. For the very latest updated list, please click here!)

1) The Love of Siam (2007) (movie) (review here) 2) My Bromance (2014) (movie) (review here) 3) Love Sick and Love Sick 2 (2014 and 2015) (review here) 4) Gay OK Bangkok Season 1 (2016) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 5) Make It Right (2016) (review here) 6) SOTUS (2016-2017) (review here) 7) Gay OK Bangkok Season 2 (2017) (a non-BL queer series directed by Jojo Tichakorn and written by Aof Noppharnach) (review here) 8) Make It Right 2 (2017) (review here) 9) Together With Me (2017) (review here) 10) SOTUS S/Our Skyy x SOTUS (2017-2018) (review here) 11) Love By Chance (2018) (review here) 12) Kiss Me Again: PeteKao cuts (2018) (no review) 13) He’s Coming To Me (2019) (review here) 14) Dark Blue Kiss (2019) and Our Skyy x Kiss Me Again (2018) (review here) 15) TharnType (2019-2020) (review here) 16) Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey (OffGun BL cuts) (2016 and 2017) (no review) 17) Theory of Love (2019) (review here) 18) 3 Will Be Free (2019) (a non-BL and an important harbinger of things to come in 2019 and beyond re: Jojo Tichakorn pushing queer content in non-BLs) (review here) 19) Dew the Movie (2019) (review here) 20) Until We Meet Again (2019-2020) (review here) 21) 2gether (2020) and Still 2gether (2020) (review here) 22) I Told Sunset About You (2020) (review here) 23) YYY (2020, out of chronological order) (review here) 24) Manner of Death (2020-2021) (not a true BL, but a MaxTul queer/gay romance set within a genre-based show that likely influenced Not Me and KinnPorsche) (review here) 25) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) (review here) 26) A Tale of Thousand Stars (2021) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake Of Rewatching Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS  27) Lovely Writer (2021) (review coming) 28) Last Twilight in Phuket (2021) (the mini-special before IPYTM) (review coming) 29) I Promised You the Moon (2021) (review coming) 30) Not Me (2021-2022) (watching) 31) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) (thesis here) 32) 55:15 Never Too Late (2021-2022) (not a BL, but a GMMTV drama that features a macro BL storyline about shipper culture and the BL industry) 33) Bad Buddy (2021-2022) and Our Skyy 2 x BBS x ATOTS (2023) OGMMTVC Rewatch 34) Secret Crush On You (2022) [watching for Cheewin’s trajectory of studying queer joy from Make It Right (high school), to SCOY (college), to Bed Friend (working adults)] 35) KinnPorsche (2022) (tag here) 36) KinnPorsche (2022) OGMMTVC Fastest Rewatch Known To Humankind For The Sake of Re-Analyzing the KP Cultural Zeitgeist 37) The Eclipse (2022) (tag here) 38) GAP (2022-2023) (Thailand’s first GL) 39) My School President (2022-2023) and Our Skyy 2 x My School President (2023) 40) Moonlight Chicken (2023) (tag here) 41) Bed Friend (2023) (tag here) (Cheewin’s latest show, depicting a queer joy journey among working adults) 42) Be My Favorite (2023) (tag here) (I’m including this for BMF’s sophisticated commentary on Krist’s career past as a BL icon) 43) Only Friends (2023)]

[jeweledstone]

Recent Trayte Dream I Keep Forgetting to Fucking Post

DATE: 2/4/2024

OKAY. SO.

This dream post is basically context for a doodle from that drawpile I made involving one of the newest characters in my dream lore, Trayte. Specifically this one.

For those not in the loop so to speak, Trayte was a character from a recent dream I’ve had who apparently knew me since my early childhood and had a tendency to have rather severe, sometimes violent, mental breakdowns. In the dream he was introduced in, he ends up being unwillingly transformed into Pizzelle from Sugary Spire, which caused his mental state to become even worse. He ended up blaming me for the whole incident and swore he would one day take revenge on me for it, thus becoming a re-occurring villain in later dreams.

This post is regarding one of those revenge attempts.

So basically his thought process behind this “revenge” was that since “I” turned him into the character he was now permanently stuck as, he might as well try turning me into some other SS character as a sorta ironic karma thingy. Originally he was gonna have me turned into Rosette because apparently he used to have an unreciprocated crush on me, but I guess the hate/spite became stronger than the crush cause he eventually changed his mind and decided to tf me into Pizzano.

This (technically) makes the 4th character from a media I like to invade my dreams and try to turn me into a different character from their source material.

My brain has recycled the same plot element. Four (maybe five) fucking times.

Which is what we in the industry like to call

FUCKING BULLSHIT

Anyway, back to the plot summary. Since Trayte didn’t have access to any sorta reality warping abilities like “Dream” and Elias or weird black magic like Pizzahead, he ended up taking a more science-y approach to his little revenge scenario by sneaking into my house while I’m asleep and injecting this weird serum into me that would not only turn me into Pizzano physically, but also eventually take me over mentally as well. (The mental part was so I could feel the same pain Trayte felt over his own mental struggle between keeping his old identity and slowly being taken over by Pizzelle that he’s had since his own transformation)

So that happens, and at first the serum seems to work as intended and of course, that’s got me freaking the fuck out. And it only got worse when one of the serum’s unintentional “side-effects” began to show.

You see, turns out the whole transformation thing Trayte designed…

Was contagious…

So yeah, fuck me, it’s the Spamton Virus all over again, and my family ended up being the first one to have it “spread” to them despite me trying to isolate myself from them in hopes they wouldn’t get hurt by me once I finally lost control. It was around this point I kinda-sorta blacked out as Pizzano took full control only to miraculously regain lucidity several in-dream months later.

By then the infection had spread rather exponentially and there were very few uninfected humans left. I remember at first trying to “blend in” with the other Pizzanos hoping they wouldn’t find out I wasn’t “one of them” anymore.

They… actually found out pretty quickly and I ended up being outcasted by them. The normal humans wouldn’t accept me either since even though I was lucid, I was most likely still contagious. So I ended up spending a good portion of the rest of the dream as a loner, trying to survive in this post-apocalyptic world of sorts. At one point, I was looting an abandoned grocery store looking for food and such when the plot started up again.

Turns out, some members of the government were still alive and trying desperately to find a cure or something for the infection, and they just so happened to be bunkering in a building right next to the store I was in. (No idea why they chose GROUND FUCKING ZERO outta all places to hide out at while the rest of society suffered but since when has a politician ever made an actually smart choice in their life, y’know?) I ended up encountering them while exiting the store and their first instinct was to basically take out their guns and unload a shitton of lead into me.

Now, if you know anything about JeweledStone dream journal lore, you’d know that one of my abilities as a reality bender is that I’m basically fucking invincible (or at least, I can take a lot more damage than a normal person could, there HAVE been some recent dreams where I have died from being injured and stuff) (bruh I can’t believe my own subconscious fucking nerfed me lmao) so the bullets basically did nothing but slightly annoy me a little. For some reason, they ended up becoming less hostile towards me after that. (Could just be cause I wasn’t actively being aggressive towards/trying to infect them tho tbh)

The dream ended with one of the politicians revealing that they were also invincible and trying to order for a fucking nuke to be dropped on us to prove it.

And yeah, that was it, kinda disappointed it ended on a cliffhanger like that, but whatever.

[ideas-on-paper]

An analysis of the voice lines from D.C. Douglas's Legion audition

[Potential spoilers for ME2]

So, the other day, I was browsing the internet for any interviews, commentaries, or anecdotes from D.C. Douglas in regards to his role as Legion in Mass Effect 2 (mainly out of curiosity, but also because his voice is prime ASMR material and I would never pass up an opportunity to listen to his relaxing timbre). While doing so, I stumbled upon an old video from 2015, containing some voice lines of D.C.'s original audition for Legion - well, strictly speaking, it wasn't the first one, but the call back he recorded after his initial audition. According to D.C., the first thing he submitted was a monologue, although the exact contents are unfortunately lost to us. However, since we have the fully voiced lines of the call back available (courtesy of Eric from Studiopolis), we have the opportunity to analyze the contents of these voice lines - which, as it turns out, happen to be quite interesting.

As a matter of fact, 99 % of these voice lines are completely unique and don't appear in the final game in any way, shape, or form. Although all we have is the isolated lines, we can deduce some of the context from the wording and the order of the recorded lines. Assuming that these lines were written by the ME2 staff previous to being sent to D.C. for test takes, it would mean that they were originally intended to be used in-game - and if this is the case, it would give new support to the theory that there is a huge amount of content, specifically related to Legion, that was cut from the final version.

The first thing to note is that in the audition file, Legion isn't even know as Legion yet - the recording is simply titled "D.C. Douglas - Geth", consequentially meaning that Legion's self-designation would be "Geth" as well (which, all things considered, is what they asked to be called in the first place). What follows next are some lines which seem to have been taken from a rather casual conversation with Shepard:

Most organics define themselves as social species, but insist on "personal space".

Six - six walls, including above and below. Humans do not think in three-dimensional terms.

We have noted your species is still poorly adapted to zero-gravity existence. Even aboard Normandy, you waste power creating gravity to comfort you.

My suspicion is that these are taken from a dialogue branch were Shepard inquires if they are comfortably settled in the AI core, asking if they are alright with being assigned such a tiny room (considering Legion's nature, this isn't really a concern, but it still would've been nice for Shepard to express the thought). Even though it should be clear that the term "personal space" holds no meaning to the Geth due to their nature as a Gestalt intelligence alone, the second line gives us an interesting insight into how they perceive the world around them. (It's worth noting that Legion also has combat lines where they announce the position of incoming enemies based on x-, y-, and z-coordinates, confirming their three-dimensional perception.) As for the third line, we actually know from astronauts what kind of effects continued absence of gravity has on the human body: myatrophy, blood circulation issues, and bone loss to only name a few. Although most of these issues can be reversed a short time after returning to Earth, it's still unknown whether humans would be able to adapt permanently to zero-gravity. However, if they did, we can assume they would have a hard time switching between life on a spaceship and going back to the surface of a planet, as this would require constant readaptation. (Though there's also the possibility that Legion was referring to a lifestyle exclusively onboard spaceships and space stations, like the Geth do it; either way, it's hard to tell without the context.)

Next, things get a little more interesting when it's apparent that human genetic engineering is discussed:

Human genetic engineering is sufficiently advanced to overcome those inefficiencies. You choose not to self-adapt. Why?

That's built-in obsolescence. Why does this law exist?

If we assume these lines are a continuation of the conversation above, it's possible that Legion is referring to genetic alterations that would allow humans to better adapt to a zero-gravity environment. However, as we know from the Mass Effect Codex, there's the so-called Sudham-Wolcott Genetic Heritage Act, which allows for the enhancement of qualities naturally present in humans, but prohibits manipulating the genome to gain new abilities - probably including any adaptations to weightlessness, whatever those might be (there are actually research endeavors to better understand and perhaps even cure the effects of bone loss, which would also be beneficial for people suffering from osteoporosis). When Shepard mentions the law to Legion, they are obviously confused as to why humans would actively choose not to evolve themselves if given the opportunity, as self-improvement is literally the main goal of the Geth.

Now's where things get really intriguing, because what follows are three lines that not only imply a profound discussion about the nature of humanity, but also Shepard's own self-confidence:

Ambiguous semantics - "human" is not a hardware configuration. "Human" is a set of shared experiences and assumptions - software.

The Geth believe that the Commander would be the Commander, no matter what hardware it is installed in.

Faith is belief without evidence. The Commander's core programming remains intact despite extensive hardware refit. That is evidence, and our judgement is not faith.

Going by our trail of thought from above, it could be that the reason Shepard gives why humanity abstains from extensive genetic modifications is that they would no longer be "human" otherwise. Legion, however, states that the term "human" has nothing to do with outward appearance, but rather a set of values and beliefs that all humans share - which, all things considered, is actually quite wholesome. (I guess as a neurodiverse person, this would kind of make me a "subspecies" of humanity - not that I mind, though.) 

What's even more interesting is that following this, Shepard themself seems to make a comment that they don't feel quite human, which, perhaps, could be related to their revival and the Cerberus implants. (I know of quite a few fanfictions which address this topic, and I always think it's interesting to consider Shepard themself is mostly cybernetic by this point.) Meanwhile, Legion tries to ease their worries by saying they are still the Commander, no matter "what hardware they're installed in". Shepard apparently thanks Legion for their faith, but Legion affirms that their statement is based on factual data rather than pure belief. (What a way to say "No matter how much of your body was replaced, you're still human - nothing can change that.")

And lo and behold, guys: the next line is the one and only from this audition to be used in the final game (near the end of Legion's loyalty mission, to be precise):

Alert: Heretic Geth runtimes downloading to mobile platforms.

After that, we get multiple lines that seem to be intended for combat. However, what stands out here is that they were apparently meant to be used during a battle onboard the Normandy:

Boarding attack imminent; Normandy must withdraw.

Armor hull bridged; multiple attempts to burn through pressure hull: three dorsal, one ventral, one bow, two aft.

Alert: ingress at port airlock.

Activating intrusion countermeasures; sealing bridge.

Airlock turrets hot*; burnout 2-3, burnout 2-7; 2-2 destroyed.

Alert: vehicle bay breach; crew withdraw to quarters deck.

Airlock turret 2-4 destroyed; burnout 2-5.

Cargo deck clear; locking crew lift; venting drive plasma.

Yes, cargo deck is clear.

Alert: Mobile platforms closing in on the CIC. Initialize combat routines.

System link interrupted; engaging target left at 10 meters - firing.

*UPDATE: Changed "Airlock turret taut" to "Airlock turrets hot"; thanks to @deskmisfit for the tip

To be honest, I always thought that all of the squadmates leaving (like, every single one) after the installation of the IFF for an unspecified "mission" right before the Collectors hit felt a little forced - and maybe, considering the above lines, it was planned for there to be a big battle to defend the Normandy. (There are even two alternative statement/response lines about clearing out the cargo deck with plasma.) Although it's possible that these lines are taken from a fight against Heretic Geth instead (which the term "mobile platforms" seems to hint at), perhaps that means boarding battles in general were supposed to be a feature in Mass Effect 2. (Which, if you ask me, sounds like a real good asset for the gameplay.)

What follows now are the last lines from the audition (and the last of the three "theme groups" of lines) - which, going by the context, are probably the most interesting of all. The conversation is about a character named "Tina" (potentially a human girl) who appears to be in conflict with the Quarians, while Legion tries to act as a mediator (my respect for that kind of self-confidence after your history with the Quarians, friend):

Let the Geth speak. We may convince the Quarian creators to pardon Tina's father.

We do not hate your kind. We simply do not need you anymore, though we are still fascinated by you.

We record your communications. Study the music and writing you upload to the extranet. We analyze the words you left behind, the homes and structures you built for yourself. The collective mind does not understand why we do this, but I have come to a conclusion: We fill a void. An integral component of our systems is missing. You are still our creators, and we... feel your absence.

The Geth know what it is to lose creators. We have no wish to see this void in Tina.

If there's one thing I always found intriguing about the Geth, it's their attitude towards their creators - despite their history being defined by the Quarians trying to destroy them, the Geth never held any grudge against them as an organic species would. Instead, Legion repeatedly states in the game that they do not hate them (as they do in the second line above), and they even keep the old structures of Rannoch intact in memory of the Quarians. However, this is the first time that the reason behind these actions is classified as "fascination". In ME2, Legion simply says that they do research on organics because they strive to understand their creators better, but the term "fascination" carries with it something far more visceral - dare I say, even emotional - than one would normally expect from logical creatures like the Geth. Somewhat ironically, the Consensus seems to be at odds with itself regarding their relationship to the Quarians: On one hand, they claim that they no longer need them since they have evolved into their own independent species, but at the same time, they never seem to be able to truly let go of them, studying and analyzing the Quarians' writing, architecture, and music. To make things even more extraordinary, Legion - and Legion specifically - has come to their own conclusion regarding the matter. Note the "I" pronoun I marked in the third line; this indicates that this opinion, unlike everything else, is not the standpoint of the Geth collective as a whole, but Legion's own (or rather, the opinion of the amalgamation of programs that make up Legion). Moreover, Legion specifically uses the verb "feel" when describing that the Quarians' absence has caused a sense of "incompleteness", even "emptiness" among the Geth - another completely unprecedented expression of their inner thoughts. (My theory would be that since the Geth are machines built with a specific purpose in mind, this is their way to express that they feel like their existence lacks meaning without the Quarians; considering this, perhaps this is literally part of the reason why they want to build their megastructure to "create their own purpose".) To top it all off, this "feeling" of loss even seems to enable Legion to emphasize with Tina, comparing the potential death of her father to the void the Geth feel at their creators' absence.

Now, I'm generally very reluctant to humanize the Geth too much, since I feel it would be very disrespectful towards their nature. However, reading all of this, I can't help the notion that the Geth may have something like a "parent complex", for the lack of a better word. What I mean by this is on one hand, almost everyone loves and respects their parents, but on the other, you might feel kind of imprisoned by their presence once you grow up, and unless you want to live in their shadow forever, you have to break with them at some point. Still, some teenagers who were previously convinced "I can totally live without my parents!" might find themselves missing the guidance and stability they gave them. I know this probably sounds very cheesy, but I just think it's so funny how at times, the Geth seem a little like some lost kids who are just growing up and have to deal with abandonment by their parents. (Also, I think it's worth mentioning that Tali's character somewhat mirrors this: In my opinion, Tali is a character that's very prone to overestimating herself, especially during her Pilgrimage, but she regularly finds herself at the boundaries of her own abilities, so she has to rely on the help of others to achieve her goals. Furthermore, Tali also has a very ambivalent relationship with her estranged father; you can tell she respects him and does everything to gain his appreciation, but still wishes he would take more time to actually be there for her - which, ultimately, isn't meant to happen. If you were really daring, you could even deduce the conflict regarding a loveless/absent parental figure as a core theme of the Geth and the Quarians.)

Another interesting point is that in this conversation, it seems like Legion might be developing something like an own personality. Without a constant connection to the Consensus, it is possible that the programs inside Legion's chassis have formed new "synapses" among themselves, which has unwittingly led to the creation of a completely independent intellect. As Legion themself said, they have a sufficent number of programs to function on their own (a normal Geth platform simply doesn't possess enough programs to reach consciousness themselves), and the continued restriction to one single platform would also disable the possibility of personality reset like it might occur normally when transferring to a different body (as explained in the Codex entry about Geth culture). Anyway, despite the Geth's somewhat ambivalent attitude towards individuality, the discussion above might imply that Legion gradually developing their own personality was something that was planned in the early stages.

Last but not least, regarding the conversation itself, it's interesting that it actually presents a scenario where you're standing against the Quarians (which does not happen under any circumstances in the final game). In addition to this, I recently stumbled upon this compilation of Legion's voice lines from the Legendary Edition, which also appears to contain some that were unused, but are still present in the code - including the combat announcement "Creator offline" (around 1:30), which is undoubtedly referring to taking out a Quarian.* From this, there can only be one conclusion: We were originally supposed to fight Quarians at some point during Mass Effect 2. (Again, this is my opinion, but I actually think it would have put the races on more of an "even ground" - I mean, we have been fighting Turians, Asari, and Salarians the entire time. It would only be fair to assume that not all Quarians in the galaxy are kind and peace-loving.)

*EDIT: I only realized now that "creator offline" is actually referring to Tali; when Mordin dies, Legion may say "Salarian offline", when Samara dies, it's "Asari offline", and so on. "Creator" is simply what Legion uses for Tali.

Conclusion + my thoughts

If one thing is for certain, it's that Legion's character underwent a lot of changes throughout the development process. Judging by the lines from the beginning, it seems the Geth were meant to be a little more "critical" of organics at first, not really comprehending their irrational actions and openly pointing out their inefficiency. Meanwhile, in the game, they still seem quite confused by organics, but they never voice their opinion in a way that could be described as "judgmental". (Take the case of their little experiment with the star constellation, for example: In the respective conversation, Legion simply recounts what happened, but doesn't make a comment that the Salarians' premature reaction was silly or something.) All in all, the Geth act very tolerant of organics, accepting that their way of thinking is different from their own, but not deeming it invalid because of this - and aside from the few occasions where they point out the contradictions in organics' moral values (e.g. when comparing EDI's restrictions to slavery on Illium and remarking on the inconsistent treatment of animals in organic societies on Tuchanka), Legion never expresses criticism of the organic perspective in itself. As for myself, a huge part of the reason why I became attached to Legion in the first place was precisely this acceptance - a quality I wish I had experienced from more people in my own life (back when Legion came out with the quote "organics fear that which is different", I had to fight really hard not to break down into tears). The Geth are confident about their own existence, and yet, they never act aggressive towards the differing views of organics, despite not fully understanding them themselves - and since this is basically the essence of my own life principle, I must say that I like the finalized version of Legion's character more.

On the other hand, I absolutely adore the idea of an interaction between Shepard and Legion about Shepard's Cerberus implants, since I think how they're mentally dealing with their revival is just such an interesting topic to explore. In quite a few fanfics I've read, I've seen Shepard feeling alienated about their cybernetics, wondering if they're even truly "alive" at this point. Judging by the respective dialogue above, this seems to be exactly the dilemma they're going through here, and Legion joining the team would certainly add a very interesting layer to that. Maybe they could have done something similar to the conversation above, with Legion basically cheering Shepard up and helping them accept who they are - and who knows, perhaps Shepard's technological enhancements could have even led to a deeper connection between them. (This is not just me wishing I could have had something like a platonic relationship with Legion, I swear. xD)

On a similar note, I think it would have been quite interesting to see which road the writers would have taken regarding Legion's individuality. From the lines above, it's clear they're developing something like an own personality, and I wonder what Legion's reaction would be once they realize that this process is actually taking place. After all, this completely uncharted territory for the Geth, and I could imagine that while Legion goes through something like a phase of denial at first, they become very insecure - perhaps even "panicked" if you want to call it that - once they figure out that they are, in fact, developing an individual personality. Going by my train of thought from above, it might be Shepard's turn to help them through this, which may even result in some kind of mutual emotional support. (Guys, if anyone ever writes a fanfic like that, notify me immediately - I WANT TO SEE IT!)

Finally, I would have given all my money for a more detailed exploration of how the Geth actually stand towards the Quarians. They may harbor no hatred towards them, but I can imagine the Geth encountering Quarians - and, to a certain degree, other organic species - with cautious mistrust. (As a case in point, just look at how long it took Legion to finally tell Shepard that the Geth are working on a megastructure to upload their minds; they most likely judged that most organics' would react unfavorably to this information, potentially even resulting in aggression that would endanger their endeavor, so they withheld it until they were absolutely sure that Shepard's reaction would not be negative. Thus, it can be seen as a sign of immense trust from Legion to make this reveal.) Even if they don't have some sort of parent complex as I described above, I would suspect they would at least have some kind of "logical" equivalent to it, e.g. that the opinion of each program is defined by their individual experiences (some Geth might still adhere to their original function, while for others, the harm the Quarians did to them outweighs their core programming). Still, with artificial intelligence being outlawed in the whole galaxy and the Quarians attacking them 100 % of the time when they thought they could win (as stated by Legion during Tali's loyalty mission), their Gestalt intellect basically has no positive example to work with. Consequently, all the Geth would have to base their standpoint on are their own convictions, as strange as that may sound. Viewed from this perspective, the Geth schism almost seems like a battle of faith, with some of them still hoping that they might one day be able to live in peace, while others have completely given up the prospect of any coexistence with organics. (Somewhat amusingly, I actually had to think of Tron while pondering over this; in Tron, there are also those programs who have abandoned the faith in the users, while others still continue to believe in them, despite having no decisive proof that they will help them.) Maybe this dissent is what caused the Geth to split into two factions in the first place, and maybe this is why they chose such a strangely religious term as "Heretics" to denote those who turned away from the old beliefs.

Anyway, judging from the unused voice lines above, we can conclude that there formerly seems to have been a lot more content relating to the Geth in general and Legion specifically in ME2, which ultimately got cut in the final game. As for the reasons, we can only guess, but there have been rumors going around for a long time that Legion's presence in the game was supposed to be way more extensive - at the very least, it looks like you would have been able to take them on a lot of earlier missions, since Legion has recorded dialogue for those which still plays properly if they're added to the party via modding. Who knows, perhaps the Geth themselves were meant to play a much more central role in the story.

Still, you should probably take all this information with a grain of salt, as everything I'm doing here is educated speculation at best - nevertheless, I find it very interesting to explore what BioWare's original plans for Legion possibly were, as well as imagining what could have been.

[mxoleander]

On Palworld using AI art;

short answer, I can find zero evidence of this (but feel free to prove me wrong) but it's not impossible

long answer, this seems to be a mix of misunderstanding and their past history. (read more so I don't clog feeds with my wall of text)

The CEO of PocketPair has made posts on Twitter saying how impressed he is with AI art generation, that is true, but the post most people point at he credits in the same thread. It was made by a Buzzfeed employee that was using ruDall-E (minimaxir on twitter) he created a series of fakemon and the CEO commented how it could fool him.

The company of PocketPair is also pro-AI use, and they most certainly have made a game using AI art before, but it does not appear Palworld is one of them. I feel like explaining the game adds context and then you can come to your own conclusions as to if it's ethical use or not. AI: Art Imposter is a game based around AI art generation, each player is given a theme and must give the built-in image generator a prompt that matches that theme, however one of you is an imposter who does not know the theme and must feed the generator a prompt either vauge enough or by pure luck matches the theme and try not to get voted out. This game is similar to the popular game Suck Up! which involves the use of an AI text generator, to the point where the website makes it extremely clear you are purchasing cryptocurrency to make the game work. My only gripe is we do not know where the art is coming from, it could be from the public domain or their own office sure, or it could be stolen which is honestly more likely.

The CEO did state once in 2022 "In about 30 years, the general public’s perception of copyright may have changed considerably.” in reference to AI art generation. I think it's entirely possible due to his past statements AI was used in the design process, not the direct assets. This is again a subject of heavy debate and a matter of opinion regarding ethics, as to whether or not you consider inspiration from AI art to also be a form of stealing. If you've ever "stole" or "fixed" AI art adopts this process is more than likely what was done here. I think this is what he meant in regards to copyright, as the original question was if you feed the same image into a generator enough times is it then considered an original idea, I could be wrong however.

I get the game with my game pass subscription either way, but I understand the need to have this sort of information before making a purchase. I personally do not like the use of AI and tried to remain as neutral as I could by providing other similar examples even if I do not personally agree with them, but I'm sure my bias will shine somewhere. As an artist AI is definitely something I worry about but I can see how it can be used as a proper tool once more laws are put into place regarding proper credit and payment to the artists used.

[starsreminisce]

I want to address the claim that "Elain's not going to reject it in someone else's book". It doesn't hold much ground, especially when the person who originally mentioned it is actively trying to bring them together.

Additionally, in ACOSAF, Feyre observed Elain and Azriel's interactions and made zero comments about their compatibility. She described Elain and Lucien in more detail, which suggests the story might be heading in that direction.

Azriel and Elain remained in the sitting room, my sister showing him the plans she’d sketched to expand the garden in the back of the townhouse, using the seeds and tools my family had given her tonight. Whether he cared about such things, I had no idea, but I sent him a silent prayer of thanks for his kindness before Rhys and I slipped upstairs.

If the idea that Elain and Azriel are a better match and that it's only a matter of time for her to reject the bond were significant, one would expect it to be addressed more explicitly.

Especially by Mor, who speaks truth, and Feyre, who first brought it up.

Mor continued, “Just be patient. It’ll sort itself out. It always does.” Another kernel of truth. I refilled my glass, set the crystal decanter on the step behind us, and drank again. “I want them to be happy. All of them.” “They will be.”

Nothing she said implies that Elain will come to the right decision or she would even make a decision. Not especially when Mor tensed up as Azriel helped Elain with her dish.

In fact, apart from the brief mention by Feyre inquiring about the cauldron, there hasn't been much discussion about Azriel and Elain. However, Nesta and Cassian have shared their thoughts on Gwynriel and Elucien, particularly in the latest book.

Even the current development, SJM prioritized pointing out Elucien’s and Gwynriel’s similarities as opposed to bringing Elain and Azriel together.

Until more substantial evidence is presented, the argument that Elain and Azriel are a better match and that Elain will inevitably reject the bond seems unsupported.

What we do know is that Azriel's feelings for Mor have changed, and he's forming a different connection with Gwyn. One that is met with approval by Nesta and Cassian and to an extent, Rhys.

If the primary basis for arguments revolves around the author's intentions, such as asserting that "she’s not going to reject it in another person’s book" or speculating that "maybe she doesn’t know how to reject the bond," it can be considered tenuous at best. Relying solely on these points without additional support may amount to little more than personal interpretation or headcanoning. While such discussions can be engaging, they might lack the robustness required for a convincing argument when faced with differing perspectives.

It's worth noting that SJM omitted the theme of rejecting the bond in ACOSAF, a point that could have been particularly relevant for Elain's character. On the other hand, she included it in ACOSF, where Nesta is presented with a prime opportunity to contemplate such a decision. If the argument hinges on the author's choices in this regard, it becomes important to consider the specific context and character dynamics. For instance, the absence of a comparison between Cassian and Lucien in this context could be significant, especially if Cassian had the capacity to empathize with Lucien's expressions of longing.

So then tell me, based on what is in the books, why hasn’t Elain rejected the bond?

Because quite simply, she’s choosing not to.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Okay, so I went looking for the Sonic 2 game manual last night for...reasons, and I decided I needed to share this page

So as I've said before, it's not as if I've consumed even half of the Sonic media out there. So my idea of the origins of Sonic and Tails I gathered through a tiny bit of Osmosis, tidbits from different tv shows (namely Sonic's depiction of how he met Tails in Sonic prime), and different origin stories via tv shows and comics. This is all to say that I was more than a bit uneducated, so I was under the impression for a while that Sonic saves Tails from the bullies who pick on him, and then he decides to take him with him (and so begins Sonic 2)

But given what a friend of mine described as implications that Sonic 1 (the game) is not the first time Sonic and Eggman have fought in addition to this page, my friend pointed out that this page from the manual may imply that Sonic and Tails were crafted originally as childhood friends. And that both blew my mind (!) and caused a couple puzzle pieces to click into place in my brain.

Despite Sega getting rid of the canon character ages, we at least know from the past that Sega/Sonic Team has had no problem depicting younger (and often very young) characters as fighters in battles against Robotnik or other villains (and this isn't even to mention this in various comic or tv show continuities). Back then (at least with just this game manual as context), there is not only a non zero chance that Sonic has been fending off danger (and potentially even Robotnik) since he was very young, but also the implication that he and Tails have known each other the longest. Since there are no ages mentioned at this point (for the record, I have no access to magazines or reporting on the game at the time of release, so you can take this with a grain of salt), to me it's possible to interpret Sonic and Tails originally being only a couple to a few years apart in age. To me it's possible to interpret their backstory as this:

Before Sonic would fight Robotnik and come to be known as a hero, he'd fight off these bullies picking on this little fox kit. The fox kit himself, known to the animals as "Tails" came to regard the hedgehog as his hero, so he came to follow Sonic around and try to catch up with him. Eventually, Sonic would officially begin to travel with Tails and look out for him, but he had a tendency to leave Tails behind when going on adventures focused on fighting off villains such as Robotnik, who would threaten the natural land and its inhabitants. But the young fox, determined to be like his hero (the young hedgehog) and to not be left behind (both when it came to fighting and because Sonic tended to get a laugh out of speeding ahead while Tails struggled to catch up), would practice flying until he could keep up and learn how to fight (partly by trying to use his Tails to his advantage, and partly by watching Sonic).

And to me, this sets up an interesting dynamic with them. Sonic is a bit of a jerk, but he ultimately cares about Tails' well-being. Tails deals with his hero acting like a bit of a jerk and leaving him behind by trying so hard to be able to join/catch up with him (and later be able to stand on his own too). This also sets them up as younger, likely orphaned, children who travel together and take care of each other. With all of this in mind too, it also makes more sense to me as to why the original Sonic Movie (currently known as "the ova") depicted Sonic and Tails having their own personal home base they live at together.

And this is more of a side thing, but after reading that excerpt from the manual my friend and I just couldn't help but think about Sora and Riku (Kingdom Hearts). While I have for a while found my brain drawing many lines/parallels between these pairs (although compiling all of these would be an essay for another time), this excerpt sort of set it in stone for me. I'll explain under the cut.

ㅤ

So, in case you're not a Kingdom Hearts fan or entrenched in the part of Soriku fandom doing deep dive analysis and theory making and making fan translations, I'll set up Sora and Riku for a moment.

Sora and Riku are two young boys who live on Destiny Islands. They've known each other since they were very young, and, although they had other friends, the two have always considered each other best friends. They also often went out to a small island (dubbed "the play island") to play together, where they had a "secret place" to play. This "secret place" was a place where the two played together and was to be a secret between only the two of them. The two would play and dream of adventure, and Riku would dream of leaving the islands one day. At the young age of 5, he was given proof of the existence of other worlds in the form of Terra (a stranger from another world—a keyblade wielder) who would ask him why he wants to see "the outside world".

"To protect the things that matter" is a desire that lasts even until Kingdom Hearts 3 (11 years later), and (as fan translators have found out) takes a progression over time in the original Japanese from "the precious things" to "the precious people" to "precious person" (or person I cherish). The "person I cherish" in question, is highly implied to be Sora. I don't have the space to throw evidence here unfortunately, but there is a good amount (I'd suggest checking blogs such as @/blowingoffsteam2 and looking into the necklace theory and the sleeping realms theory as a start, as these will lead you to other blogs. Or you can dm me I suppose. I have a store of screenshots and kh media to draw from, just know...it's a lot).

Anyhow, with all that in mind, I also offer up an excerpt of Riku's story from the KH character files (this is a fan translation of the Japanese version), which serves to tell us a bit about Riku, he and Sora's relationship, and his perpective of the Dark Margin scene from KH2.

Translation by keijithekit on twitter

After all, when you're a child, a year is a big age difference, so I played the older brother and took Sora around with me everywhere. When did that change?

Other fan translators have also interpreted the original japanese as saying that Riku not only played the "older brother" role, but tried (perhaps not very well) to play this role. This is a short story that gives implications of feelings (and even the roles you take in another's life) changing over time. This is to say that Riku had once tried to play older brother to Sora, protect him and play with him, but over time things...changed.

Sora and Riku, as young children and all the way through to KH2, were best friends and friendly rivals. The two would often race, spar, and start up contests, with Riku winning the most. This is an important part of their relationship—as friends who drive each other to become better through competition. As Sora would fight to catch up to Riku, to beat him just once (which would also start him down a path of proving he doesn't need to fully rely on Riku anymore), Riku would fight back, get stronger and run faster so he could still be better.

Riku in KH1 (like classic Sonic as implied by the earlier excerpt from the Sonic 2 manual) is a bit of a jerk, and he often enjoys proving that he's "better" than Sora (faster and stronger). Sonic values the idea of freedom, and Riku too wants to be free, wants to explore the outside world. And Tails is a bit like Sora, who tries until he can catch up to Riku, until he can beat him just once. When Riku tells Sora in kh1 that he can go home and he (Riku) can handle everything else, Sora proves that he has the fighting prowess to stand on his own feet now and doesn't need to leave it all to Riku. Of course, Tails is a bit like Riku too. He doesn't just want to be able to catch up to Sonic, to stand on his own two feet, he wants the kind of strength Sonic seems to have (to be able to fight on his own, and to be able to protect what he cares about). And likewise, while Sora isn't initially as driven to leave their home as Riku is (as he both wants to see the outside world with him and likes his home), he also comes to value the idea of freedom, of living your own life.

And this is all to say that the parallels aren't one to one for me (especially as I believe Sonic and Tails can each parallel both Sora and Riku), but I see them regardless.

Let's return back to the Sonic 2 manual and that excerpt from Riku's story in the character files and compare the the two possible interpretations of these different backstories.

"Two childhood best friends grew up together. The older one often took care of the younger one, and the elder would try to play the older brother role to the younger as they took the younger everywhere with them. Likewise, the younger idolized the older one. The two would often compete, which would drive each of them to become better as the older would try to stay on top and the younger would keep trying to catch up and win even once. One of them desires strength to protect the things that matter (such as their best friend). The other desires to be as strong and fast as the other, fighting to be able to rival them competitively. While the older would spend time protecting the other, the younger one day is able to prove that they can stand on their own, no longer needing the older as they once did, not allowing the older to make them stay behind."

"Once, a very young kid was saved by one just older. The younger started to idolize and admire the other as their hero and began to follow the older around. Eventually, the older would begin to take care of the younger, but the older would often show off their own speed and strength and leave the younger behind. The younger, determined to be able to catch up, to be able to stand with the older, flies and trains until they can (and desires too to be able to stand alone, to have the kind of strength the older possesses, to not need the older). As the two grow older, the younger eventually is able to catch up with and fight beside the older (and too develops their own ways to fight). The two, from this point forward stick beside each other as much as they can (to the point that if they aren't adventuring together, they are often in contact)."

ㅤ

Okay, I've kept you all here long enough. I mostly was hoping I could shed a bit of light as to why this excerpt from the Sonic 2 manual reminds me so much of Soriku. Food for thought, right?

[kasunex]

It's time for our favorite game, rate my hot takes! For Fate, in this case.

Feel free to respond with agreement, disagrement, or a rating of spicy level.

1) "All routes are canon" is often just a "get out of jail free card" for retcons and/or canonical issues.

The original visual novel stuck to all routes being equal, but both Extraverse and especially Grand Order treat some events as canon and others as not. The fandom is aware of this on some level too as the discourse often also puts some routes above others.

2) Altera's route was the worst of the four in Fate/Extella.

Her pairing with Hakuno was extremely wierd, her two forms felt disconnected, and seeing her outright kill everyone else didn't endure sympathy.

3) Nero was the best part of Extella, she is very sympathetic and wholesome there.

And no, she's not flawless. She's shown to be jealous, melodramatic, self-absorbed, and insensitive to varying degrees. She just lets her love for Hakuno overshadow those traits.

4) Mordred is either cis or some kind of non-binary.

She isn't trans, and that scene from Apocrypha is taken out of context.

5) Nero, Hakuno, and Tama aren't poly in Extella True/ExLink. Nero and Hakuno are together and Tama is a third wheel.

Hakuno not telling Tamamo off - which anime protagonists seem reluctant to do at the best of times - doesn't mean they are an item when Hakuno shows no interest in Tama. ExLink is especially blatant here in a few scenes - Tama is basically the Luvia of Nero and Hakuno.

6) Shirou x Sakura was better in the movies than in the visual novel.

In the VN, Shirou seemed to still like Rin half the time. In the movie Sakura was actually his full focus.

7) Shirou x Saber makes no sense as a pairing.

Shirou is a random Japanese teenager, Saber is the ghost of a King of Britain who had a tense relationship with Shirou's idol, Kiritsugu. It feels very forced.

(And if people point out the hypocrisy of my liking NeroHaku in turn, well, Extraverse is far less grounded so it doesn't stick out so much).

8) Fate/Zero is the best Fate entry. The only flaw it has is being a bad representation of the series as a whole.

Perhaps more minty than some of these, but I know some people are hardcore against this take.

9) Fate/Zero also has the best iteration of Artoria.

People complain about inconsistencies with her personality and motives. Personally, I don't care because she's better written in Zero. Zero actually treats her gender as a key part of her character rather than an excuse to waifu her.

Also, both Shirou and Iskandar are sexist towards Artoria. The difference is she falls in love with Shirou for it.

10) The UBW anime explains Shirou just fine if you're paying attention.

A lot of people act like the UBW anime doesn't give proper context and makes Shirou look stupid. It's not as good as the VN in that regard, naturally, but it does the job well.

[cienie-isengardu]

My RepCom Musing: The use of “psycho” and “crazy” and similar terms

Not sure where my research will ultimately lead me as I’m still collecting data how RepCom book series treated the potential mental illness and/or the perception of the “psycho” characters - something I've been meaning to write for some time in regard to Walon Vau and Sev, but for now I would like to share a few observations made so far:

There is a visible difference in how Walon Vau and Kal Skirata approach the topic of potential mental illness of their clone commandos, which I think fits their introvert and extrovert natures well. As far as I can say, Walon in general is not talking with outsiders about his men’s mental state - he acknowledged (think) Sev is “psychotic” and lacks “the most basic social graces“ [True Colors] or confronted Scorch about his breakdown [Order 66] but we don’t see him revealing much of their traumas or how horrible was their training to anyone who wasn’t already a part of said training program (and we know that Vau and Skirata argued about that a lot). In contrast, Skirata talked surprisingly a lot to other characters about what happened to Ordo/Nulls or occasionally to Omegas, usually to explain why his sons act in this way. This happened with Etain and Obrim and even Fi, though how Ordo feels about his trauma being talked with “outsiders” is not really brought by narrative. 

Granted, both men are using different frames from what they count normal (good) - Vau is operating in the good soldier zone (as being a soldier has a special meaning for him related to his own fucked up childhood) while Skirata focuses on family life (something he failed at once and many clones may never have a chance to experience) but that is a topic for another time.

Similarly, Delta Squad and Atin(?) are rarely seen calling other characters as the psycho, especially in a negative way. Scorch did use that name for Sev, but either Deltas were in their own company or Scorch made an observation about his brother’s behavior as he was worrying about him a lot in Order 66. Frankly, as far as my research showed, Deltas did not call Walon Vau the “Old Psycho” but they did at least twice called Skirata “crazy” (True Colors and Order 66). Interestingly, the majority of “psycho” and “crazy” terms - in context of mental illness / dangerous behavior - used by clones alone in the books comes from Omega (those members originally trained by Kal) and Nulls. 

Old Psycho, as a nickname for Vau was used twice (or so I assume) by Fi and once by Mereel. Bonker Squad as a nickname for Nulls was used by Fi and Darman/Niner and Skirata who coined this term. 

  "Your buddy ... ," Darman teased.

    "Rather have him for a friend than an enemy."

    "Ooh, he likes you. Hobnobbing with ARC officers from the Bonkers Squad, eh?"

    "We have an understanding," Fi said. "I don't laugh at his skirt, and he doesn't rip my head off."

    Yes, Ordo had taken a shine to him. Fi hadn't fully understood it until Skirata had taken him to one side and explained just what had happened to Ordo and his batch on Kamino as kids. So when Fi had thrown himself on a grenade during an anti-terrorist op to smother the detonation, Ordo had marked him out as someone who'd take an awfully big risk to save comrades. Null ARCs were psychotic-bonkers, as Skirata put it-but they were unshakably loyal when the mood struck them. [Triple Zero]

 There are also variations of the “All Nulls are psychos / crazy” statement, quite often coming from Omega, Kal or Nulls themselves. Interestingly, Vau at the beginning of True Colors described them simply as hooligans (rather than psychos) and it was put in contrast to Sev and Vau’s men in general (the good soldiers) while Vau seems to be more prone to call Skirata the crazy one than Nulls. 

Also, it seems like most of the psycho/crazy statements or rumors repeated(?) started with Skirata and was adapted by his men at some point? Like:

mentioned Bonker Squad for Nulls (used solely by him and Omega)

the not best opinion about ARC even if Nulls are the psychos themselves? (“but an ARC who'd gone AWOL was-impossible. Jango Fett had raised and trained them personally, with an emphasis on absolute loyalty to the Republic. Sergeant Kal said that Jango was an unhinged shabuir, but he always stuck to his contract, and that contract had included creating a loyal, totally reliable army. Darman had heard rumors to the contrary, and the Nulls were living crazy proof that a clone soldier could be as eccentric and wayward as any random human, but nothing had ever been confirmed.) As in “Jango was an unhinged shabuir and because he trained ARCs, they are like that too” kind of logic?

And considering that Deltas do not call Walon Vau as the Old Psycho but Fi and Mereel used that nickname, I think it is safe to assume this comes from Skirata too?

Additionally, I made a working diagram - it's not fully correct, as for now I focused on looking for specific phrases (psycho and crazy, bonker or those specific moments that I remembered), but for curiosity's sake I'm posting it in regard to Nulls, Vau and Sev as they are the most prominent characters in regard to “psycho” nickname.

[thefirstknife]

In regards to whole uluran/cabal thing I would suggest reading the post by @allonsyjeni in regards to their thoughts on the matter

Thanks for sending this! Here's the link. I'm glad to hear another perspective!

I want to say that my involvement in this is because my Jewish friends have been incredibly uncomfortable with Destiny ever since the stuff from Chosen and when things were put together + combined with the name "Cabal." A lot of the times when they wanted to speak about it, they would get harassed online for it so I offered to speak in their stead since antisemitic harassment doesn't affect me. I'm glad to take the punch instead of them.

Most of these things separately would not be as strange to see, but together it raises eyebrows. I wanna leave the majority of the discussion to people who are actually Jewish, but I do already know that a lot of Jewish people are unhappy about this naming so ultimately, it would not affect anyone outside of people who would be made less upset if the word was dropped.

I'd like to point out a few things from the lore perspective. First, what the "Cabal" describes. So far we have not seen any indication that it just describes their ruling style. All Cabal rulers, some of which differ wildly, have called their people "Cabal." Calus largely abandoned conquest and war but still calls himself and his people "Cabal." The word is also used to refer to individuals of the species. If it were just a ruling style, then we would reasonably see a difference.

This COULD be just a thing to make in-game stuff more uniformed but even outside of gameplay elements, all Cabal regardless of affiliation or status or rank are called the same. The name of the military leaders ruling prior to Calus was the Praetorate. Calus overthrew them to take reign as the Emperor. Despite all of these disagreements and differences in ruling, they all call themselves "Cabal."

OP also pointed out that they are heavily based on Ancient Rome. Which is true! It's something I am very familiar with, having a master's degree on this topic. It's also why it's extra strange to me that they are called "Cabal." Everything else they have has Ancient Roman terminology; centurions, legions, phalanxes, praetorians, gladiators. Their whole culture is based on Ancient Rome with conquest and war and integrating conquered species into the Empire, assimilating them and giving them citizenships... It's all a very clear reference.

So why "Cabal"? It is not in any way related to Ancient Rome or anything from antiquity. There's also other influences from other cultures for them as well! But never anything Jewish. Naming them "Cabal" makes literally zero sense. Which is exactly why it raises eyebrows for me and others, when paired with other stuff. Nothing else about them is Jewish, so why that name and random bits and pieces? Why "golem" out of nowhere? The guy is called Basilius! It originated from Greek and was adapted by the Romans! It's always been very strange to me, even outside of the context of antisemitism.

I also want to touch on "shadows" because that only works in context of Calus. Calus was exiled and brought with him his loyalists, aka people who still believe he is the one true Emperor. Calus has also always been preparing to one day return and rule the Cabal again. The "shadows" in this context absolutely evoke an idea that Calus is the real ruler, ruling in secrecy from the sides, like a "shadow government" until he is put back into his rightful place again. Which is an antisemitic conspiracy.

The association of the two words, "shadow" and "cabal" is directly linked to antisemitism. His Shadows are explicitly here to help Calus re-establish his reign again and they're all a part of his elite council. The imagery involved here is not subtle. Furthermore, the Shadows are all parts of other species, which evokes another troubling imagery of "the elite members of every group are in on this." The idea is that there are members of every species that believe in the true Emperor Calus, who want to help him become the ruler again. Similarly, the problem with "Shadow Legion" is the "Shadow" part.

Obviously, this may have been just a coincidence. It's really hard to prove what was the thought process behind this, as that is the whole point of dogwhistles. It can easily be explained with something else, leaving only those "in on it" to understand what it truly means. It definitely doesn't remove the fact that some people see it and have a visceral reaction to the implications.

Other details mentioned are all stuff that can be easily explained otherwise, as OP pointed out. I definitely agree on that which is also why I don't want to assume malice on Bungie's part. Unfortunately, the word "cabal" is pretty clear. Obviously it has a more benign possible meaning, but as we both said, it's why it's a dogwhistle. The origin of the word and the most common usage is very explicitly antisemitic, even when people don't know where it came from. And the situation irl currently is such that I cannot see that word and not flinch. It's incredibly difficult to remove the association and think of "cabal" as just my silly little space rhinos.

But I do want to show this perspective as well and ask others to see that as well. And I especially invite other Jewish people to weigh in on it because it primarily affects them. My personal opinion is always that if there's a group that is upset by something and the rest of us are indifferent to it, we should act on the behalf those who are upset.

[lucianowrites]

Intro To Jumpchains

Jumpchains. If I'm gonna be back on Tumblr, I'm gonna be extremely into my own hobbies, so here we go.

The tl;dr of jumpchains is that you pick a setting, find a jumpdoc, make some choices from that jumpdoc (which is basically a CYOA in and of itself, especially if you don't feel like reading other jumpdocs), and then play pretend about what you'd do if you had the stuff from the jumpdoc for ten years. And then you pick another setting, another jumpdoc, make more choices, play pretend again, and repeat ad-infinitum. But if you want a MUCH longer explanation... Read on, friends.

Jumpchains are a special subset of Choose Your Own Adventures, most often based on existing franchises of all sorts. There is a small community of jumpchain fans on Tumblr, but some of the central communities are on 4chan, Reddit, Spacebattles, and Questionable Questing. Jumpchains are fucking rad guys and as someone into the TTRPG space, I think a lot of us would like them if we knew about them so I'm gonna post about them.

In the mid 2010s the first jumpchains were made by someone named Quicksilver over on 4chan, and they gained enough popularity for their fans to slowly post about them on spaces like /makeyourchoice on reddit (and eventually they'd make a subreddit of their very own), forums like Spacebattles and Questionable Questing.

While rules are used very softly with regard to jumpchains, some traditions remain mostly intact with one example being that the "traditional" first jump is the Pokemon jump made by Quicksilver themself, and another soft tradition is that a "Jumper" which is the in-universe term for someone going on a journey or a "Jumpchain" is a self-insert of the author. Both of these traditions are upheld as regularly as they are ignored tbh.

A jumpchain is a journey someone goes on, "Jumping" from setting to setting. At the beginning of each new "Jump", or period spent in a setting, a player gets to select new perks, items, origins, and companions from a Jumpdoc, which is the actual, real-world document that players use to assign attributes, abilities, and items to their character, and sometimes even characters (such as if a jumper is importing a companion, which is a character from another setting that can also purchase items, origins, and perks). Things you buy from a jumpdoc carry over into new settings, so you do not start from zero each time.

Normally each "Jump" lasts ten in-setting years, though perks, drawbacks (challenges players give their characters in exchange for more points which they can use to buy stuff), and a special kind of jump known as a "Gauntlet" can ignore the 10-year tradition with ease. Perks and items are also backed "by-fiat" to work across settings, so a character who goes to a DC jump and becomes a Kryptonian can still do Kryptonian stuff even if they go to a Chronicles of Narnia jump next and select a "Aslan" origin (that is just an example, I have no clue if any Narnia jumps offer options to become Aslan, or even his sibling or something). Same with say, a Harry Potter wand in a Skyrim jump, because of fiat (assuming you spent CP, the in-universe term for the "Money" that lets you buy things from a jumpdoc, on it anyway). Someone who is a Jedi in one Star Wars jump will remain a force-user in other jumps, so long as you aren't in a gauntlet or are taking a drawback that prevents you from using out-of-context (another term for "out-of-universe" stuff) powers.

At the end of each jump, assuming your character didn't die, or otherwise "Chain fail" (in-universe for "game-over" for lack of a better term), they will be given three options. The first option is to go back to Earth; their birth planet (by default, this is another thing that can be and often is ignored) which would usually allow them to keep their items and powers but stops their journey, the second option is to stay in the jump they are in. In this case they are often given another 1000 points to spend on in-jump stuff, and their journey comes to an end. The third option, which is the default that the "game" assumes players will pick is to carry on their journey. In this case they go to the next jump you, the author, have chosen for them through whatever means you have selected. I've read stories in this genre where it's as simple as instant teleportation to a new world, and others where downtime passes before the jumper is deposited in the new setting.

The typical end goal of a jumpchain is to "Spark" which is done by successfully completing daunting challenges in an "Endjump", which are enormously challenging jumps that may well defeat your jumper. If a character successfully sparks they gain the ability to travel across the multiverse (the most common term I've seen for the totality of the setting of a jumpchain) unaided, and in some cases become fully omnipotent. Basically, they attain vast power, though it appears that originally the term "Spark" was used to refer to the MTG Planeswalker sparks? I don't know enough about MTG to make sense of all of that, but most jumpchains include a "Jumpchan" a powerful creature responsible for allowing the "Jumper" to travel from setting to setting, and the ability to move between universes is not something that the jumper themselves can freely do. They often do this because they are bored, though many jumpchain writers have given their jumpchans better motives than that.

I personally dislike this convention, and when I do jumps I remove the whole idea of a jumpchan. I'm far from alone here, though I know that this approach is not particularly popular.

There's a lot more to jumpchains than this, but this is a little primer. I fully plan to write more, especially about gauntlets (which were mentioned here), origins, supplements, and eventually even "Creative mode", but for now have this tiny introduction to Jumpchains! I can't wait to say and write even more about them.

[krystalwinterswrites]

See You Again (At The Ending)

[Summary from AO3: Five jumps too far into the future, ending up in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. God decides Klaus is a nuisance and kicks him out of the afterlife. These events are both years and seconds apart.]

[Short Description: Klaus survives the apocalypse AU, in which Five and Klaus spend years together through the apocalypse and the Commission, all while Five is trying to find the right equation to get back home and Klaus is trying to figure out why this time-traveling, space-jumping kid seems vaguely familiar.]

Part 4: See You Again

Beginning of Work | Previous Part

[Notes: This chapter has already been published on AO3. It also will make zero sense without context from original chapters.]

Chapter 25: Chapter 28

The morning after the Commission’s attack and Klaus’ explanation, Klaus catches Allison in her room with various items scattered across her bedspread. Clothes and other necessities, along with three books on motherhood he knows she was in the middle of reading before the world ends.

“What are you doing?” he asks.

Allison folds another skirt, dropping it into the suitcase. “Packing.” It’s an obvious answer that doesn’t mean anything.

“What for?”

“A trip.”

“A trip?” he asks, disbelieving. “Allison, the world is going to end in a week.”

Allison turns towards him. “You’ve already said that. But the timeline has changed. And if the world is ending in a week, then I need to be with my daughter.”

Klaus gapes. “You don’t believe me.”

A beat passes, and he laughs a dark, hysteric laugh.

“You seriously don’t believe me. Allison…” He doesn’t know what to say, so he merely trails off, watching her finish.

With a soft set of clicks, Allison’s suitcase closes. She stands, regarding him with that slightly arrogant look that always annoyed him.

“I need to see my daughter.”

“We need to save the world.”

She rolls her eyes. “Save the world on your own.”

“You don’t even have legal rights to see your daughter.”

“So?”

“So you should help us save the world. If we save the world, you’ll have years with Claire. Not just one week.”

Allison steps forward. “There is no ‘we’ or ‘us’ here. There’s just you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to leave.”

“Just hear me out.”

“No,” she says.

“Al—“

Allison approaches him, something dangerous in her eyes. She opens her mouth, and Klaus half expects her to rumour him into staying out of her way.

“Have you ever loved someone enough that you might die if you’re apart from them? Like you could actually die if you can’t see them?” she asks instead, her voice strained. “You need them like you need air. Like you need your heart to beat. Can you really say you’ve ever felt like that?”

Klaus stares at her.

He thinks of how hard those first few months of the apocalypse were. How he despaired and grieved for his siblings. How he wanted so badly to do anything to see them again.

He thinks of Dave. Of how seeing him die was the worst moment of his life. Of how being torn away from him was like dying himself. Of how he had lost his support, his very reason for living, the love that had kept him alive through the war. Of how afterwards, he had gotten dead drunk in a despondent state, wishing he could move to the afterlife if only to see Dave again.

He thinks of Ben. Of all the years they had spent together. Of everything they had been through. Of how many times Ben had pulled him away form the edge, had talked him out of bad decisions.

He thinks of the kid. How he has clung to him like a lifeline. How he had survived twenty years in the apocalypse just to make sure the kid was alright. That he wasn’t alone. How he felt like he couldn’t breathe when they were apart.

How he feels like he can’t breathe now, the worry stitching its way through his lungs and tearing its way through his heart.

“Yes,” he says firmly. “Yes, I can.”

Allison scoffs. “Yeah, right.” She shoves past him, and it’s all he can do not to scream at her. He knows how she’s hurting. He knows she’s going through a lot.

It doesn’t make being brushed off any easier.

~~~

In the end, everyone goes their separate ways. Screwed up and obvious though the Commission’s attack against them was, none of them are listening to Klaus.

Luther leaves with Allison on a two-day trip to LA, where Allison will attend therapy and Luther may get the chance to meet Claire. A chance.

Viktor insists that Leonard is different in this timeline. Yet he refuses to organise a meeting between Klaus and Leonard on the basis that Klaus may randomly throw around accusations. There’s probably also some kind of subconscious understanding that Leonard isn’t perfect that Viktor is choosing to ignore.

Diego says he has important business to take care of. Klaus would bet twenty dollars that “important business” consists of running around the city in leather, throwing knives and being a thorn in his ex’s side.

Thus, Klaus is left to his own devices.

Which means that he’s following Diego around like a lost puppy, returning the mansion regularly for any sign of Five. They’ve marked it as a rendezvous location and their destination. The secondary rendezvous point has always been Diego’s workplace. The Academy may be compromised due to the Commission; Cha Cha and Hazel have definitely found him.

Diego’s workplace is exactly as Klaus remembers it from the one time Diego had dragged him there after finding him out on the streets with none of his wits about him, though it is a lot less blurry.

He shuffles after Diego, feeling awkward all the while. He follows Diego like a shadow. One half of it is having someone other than Ben as company; the other half is having someone who can physically ensure that Klaus doesn’t fall back on bad habits.

It’s in the afternoon when Diego’s boss approaches them. Diego looks at him, confused, as Klaus stands behind Diego, half expecting to be thrown out.

Instead, the boss’ eyes don’t even look at Klaus. “Got a phonecall from the police for you,” he says.

Diego stills. “Oh, yeah?”

“Something about a lost kid. Aidan Rodriguez. Says he’s yours.”

Diego opens his mouth, but Klaus leaps into the discussion.

“We’ll be sure to take care of that,” he promises. “Actually, it would be very convenient if you were to let Diego off work early.”

Diego’s boss looks between him and Diego. Klaus utilizes his best puppy-dog eyes. “All right,” he relents. “But just this once.”

“Thank you,” Klaus sing-songs, yanking Diego along with him as he leaves the establishment.

Once they’re outside, Diego rounds on him. “What was that about?” he demands. “I don’t have a—”

“—kid,” Klaus responds meaningfully. He raises an eyebrow.

Diego raises one right back. “Fine. We’ll go see if it’s yours.”

“Thank you!” Klaus exclaims with a happy skip in his step.

Diego shakes his head with amusement. “I guess we know his name, now.” He brings them around to where his car is parked.

“Come to think of it, I think he said he didn’t have a name. Aidan is just one of many I suggested during the first months we knew each other.” Klaus sits down next to Diego. He straps in, and then they’re off, though it feels like it’s taken forever and a decade already.

Normally, he would sit in the back with Ben. But for now, Ben has disappeared again. Intentionally this time; he’s looking for the kid. He’ll be happy to hear any news on the matter.

“Is that how he knew you’d notice if he called me? You mentioned me?”

“Y—”

He cuts off. It surely isn’t entirely because of that. He can still remember the fear in the kid’s voice and the grief in his expression on that unfortunate day they met. The kid had always acted like he knew Klaus before the apocalypse hit.

Klaus takes a breath. “I’m pretty sure he knew us before the apocalypse.”

“But you don’t know him?” Diego asks.

“I suppose I must have,” he responds.

“He could have known through the academy. We were pretty famous.”

“No, no. He feels awfully familiar. Like you’ve met him before but can’t remember where, how, or why you know him.”

Diego hums, taking a right turn. “Another one of Dad’s experiments?”

“Who knows us personally? Who was thirteen when I was thirty?” Klaus responds. “The only people were even at home when they were seventeen were Luther, Allison, and Viktor. Even if he were one of—”

He finds himself taken back, abruptly, to the day he had met the kid. Disoriented at the time, he hadn’t thought much of it. And he may not remember correctly after all these years, but he’s pretty sure the kid said—

“Dad.”

Shit. Maybe the kid is part of Reginald’s experiments.

“‘Even if he were one of Dad?’” Diego quotes back.

Klaus leans forward in his seat, watching the buildings creep past. “Can’t you go any faster?”

“Not gonna happen.”

Klaus gives him a withering look. “Why?”

“Because.” Diego turns into a lot. “We’re right by a police station. Wouldn’t want to get caught for a traffic violation.” He finds a space, shifting into park.

The second the car is stopped, Klaus bolts—at a reasonable rate so as not to be run over. Diego follows more slowly with a mixture of amusement and concern. Amusement because Klaus was acting weird—weirder. Concern because of the whole awful, terrible, absolutely no-good situation they were in.

Klaus flings open the door, then stops short. He has no idea where to go from here. Luckily, he just so happens to be with the sibling who knows this place best.

Diego strides in like he owns the place, ignoring various looks of confusion. No doubt they were surprised to see him outside of the handcuffs. Klaus follows him until they reach an area where Eudora is working, dealing with paperwork.

“Hey, Eudora,” Diego says.

She looks up. “Hello, Mr. Rodriguez.”

“Eu—”

“I’m Detective Eudora Patch,” she introduces herself.

Diego sighs. “Please don’t do this.”

“Klaus,” Klaus says, electing to avoid getting involved with Diego’s love troubles. “Where’s the kid?”

Eudora gives him a not-quite smile. “Aidan’s currently in a waiting room, ready to take a statement. I’ll take you to him.”

Rapidly, his hopes drop. As much as he would love to see the kid, he knows not to be too much of a fool. The second the kid is left alone in a waiting room will always be the same second he leaves.

Sure enough, when they open the door, no one’s there.

Eudora blinks. “He was just—”

“Oh, yeah, he does that sometimes.”

“You mean you didn’t even know if he was here?” Diego asks.

Klaus doesn’t bother to respond, instead staring at the seat. “Our little Aidan”—Diego glares at him—“is something of a rebel. Teenagers, y’know? I keep thinking he’ll come around eventually, but here we are. Not even respecting the police and waiting for twelve fucking minutes.” He growls the last words out, releasing most of his frustration in the six syllables.

“What’s your relation to Aidan?” Eudora asks. She probably should have already, but Klaus imagines she’s out of sorts, having learned that her ex-boyfriend apparently has a teenage kid

Klaus smiles. This is the kid’s own fault this time. “We’re his two dads.”

Diego is giving him a look that is somewhere between what-the-hell and I-will-strangle-you. “We should go search for him,” Diego says. “Thanks for… telling us.”

“You can file a missing persons—”

Klaus smiles politely. “We’ll find him ourselves.” It’s better than saying he’d rather die. “Just… keep an eye out, will you? We’ll be in touch.”

Eudora opens her mouth, but Klaus is already dragging Diego away.

“Thank you for your time and sorry for the inconvenience!” Klaus calls, ignoring a few turned heads.

The moment they exit the station, Diego rounds on him. “What the hell, Klaus?”

“Oh, good,” he says. “I was scared for option two.”

“You—”

“The conversation was not going to get any better. Would you have liked to tell her that the kid has no relation to us?”

Diego glares at him. “When you went missing,” he says, “I didn’t expect you to come back as an asshole.”

Klaus deflates. “Right. Sorry.” He forces himself to calm down. “I get mean when I’m worried.”

Without a response, Diego walks back to the car. Klaus lingers for a moment, unsure if he’s invited before he decides that screw it, Diego can fuss if he wants. It’s still the most convenient transportation. This time, Klaus returns to his usual seat, although Ben still isn’t around. He just doesn’t want to talk.

They ride in silence. Somehow, it takes longer to get back to Diego’s place than it did to get to the station.

Nevertheless, they reach their destination eventually. Diego returns to his work, and Klaus invades Diego’s home, claiming the only chair.

It’s not long until he says, “Hi, Ben.” Right on time, Ben materializes on the bed.

“I didn’t find him,” Ben reports.

Klaus sighs. “We know he’s here.”

“Where?”

“That’s the problem. We only know he was inside the police station long enough to tell them Diego was his legal guardian and then leave.”

Any trace of Ben’s excitement fades. “Oh.” Then, he snickers. “How’d that go over with Diego?”

Klaus grins. “You should’ve seen the look on his face when I told Detective Patch that we were the kid’s two dad.”

“You did what?”

“It was glorious,” Klaus says. Bad as he feels about lying, he’ll remember the moment forever.

Ben smiles. “I would’ve loved to be there.” It’s odd to see the childish side of him after all these years. For a too long, they’ve both been forced to focus on surviving with barely any chance to fool around.

“But he is angry with me right now for lying to his ex.”

Ben glances at the door as though Diego may appear any moment. As though Diego could hear what he says to begin with. Then, his gaze turns back to Klaus. “Maybe he should stop pursuing someone who’s clearly not interested in any more of his bullshit?”

“Well, that’s true.”

“But you should still clear things up, if you get the chance.”

“Also true.” Klaus stands and stretches. “I’m going to go get something to eat. Diego’s planning on going back to the Academy in the morning, and I think Viktor will be there, too.”

Ben hums. “Maybe he’ll bring Leonard?”

“It would probably be good to meet him,” he responds as he makes his way to the exit. That way he could figure out the differences between this Leonard and the one he knew. He pauses at the landing, turning back to Ben. “Where do you want to eat?”

~~~

It’s a surreal experience to be at the Academy again. Previously, he didn’t get much of an opportunity to take it all in, confronted with Cha Cha and Hazel as he was during his first hour of consciousness.

Now, he can’t stop himself from staring at every little thing. The walls are littered in bullets thanks to Cha Cha and Hazel; the picture of Ben over the mantlepiece has a bullet hole in the corner. His room is exactly as he left it, albeit slightly more dusty. His siblings’ rooms have barely changed.

If he tries, he can imagine himself walking along that hall, following through with whatever training Reginald organized. He can imagine himself racing along the hallway, the alarms blaring in the deafening noise to remind them of missions. He can imagine himself following Grace, going through the nightly routine.

He stands in the doorway to his room, staring at its contents. None of it is of any worth to him anymore. All his keepsakes and treasures from childhood mean nothing now

Maybe, if he searches through and discards things, he’ll find something worth keeping. A book recommended by Ben. A friendship bracelet Allison braided, part of a matched set she had made for everyone. Sketches and doodles from Viktor, along with half-composed sheet music he’ll never understand. A list of things Luther liked about him, written as punishment for the broken nose he had given Klaus.

Yes, there are certainly things of value buried somewhere in there. But most of it is bitter memories and things he’d rather leave in the past.

On a whim, he goes to Ben’s room. Everything is pristine. Ben didn’t always keep things neat, but he did clean up after himself every now and then. It’s clear one of those times was before his last mission.

Klaus closes the door. He doesn’t want to think about Ben’s death. He’s spent the last two decades confronting too much death already, and the decade before that coming to terms with Ben’s death.

He’s about to leave and head for the kitchen when a memory resurfaces.

“Did anyone ever live in the room across from mine?”

At the time, it had seemed entirely insignificant. Just Ben acting weird. But maybe…

The doors slides open easily, creaking loudly. It’s clear the room hasn’t been touched, even to be cleaned, in ages. He steps inside, casting a glance around.

The room looks vaguely like someplace Viktor would stay, which makes sense. He’s the only one who’s ever lived in the room. And after that, the room had been locked for the rest of Klaus’ stay in the Academy.

It’s decorated in mostly muted colors, and the whole place is mostly barren. Viktor had moved, after all. He had taken his stuff with him.

Still, Klaus forges on, looking through the desk and finding it empty expect for a broken pen clip. He brushes off the shelves that no doubt had housed Viktor’s violin for a while; there’s still a block of rosin waiting for use. Other than that, the room is completely abandoned.

He sighs. Of course there’s nothing there. What had he been looking for, anyway?

“Why are you looking at the spare room as though it’s personally offended you?” That’s Diego, arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe.

“I just… Thought I’d find more of Dad’s secrets?”

Diego snorts. “Since when have you cared about Dad’s secrets? You aren’t Luther.”

“Luther isn’t here. Maybe I’m taking his place.”

“Okay, Number One,” Diego responds. He says it with clear distaste. “I’ll be in the kitchen, appreciating Mom’s cooking.”

“Yeah. I’ll be right there.”

Diego’s tone turns concerned. “Klaus—”

“Hm?” He accidentally cut Diego off.

“Are you even listening?”

Klaus waves him away. “No, yeah. Of course I am.”

“Klaus, I can honestly say that I don’t understand what you’re doing right now. Maybe it’s a midlife crisis or whatever fifty-year-olds do. But whatever it is, I doubt it’s helping you save the world.” Diego walks over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Eating will. Mom’s made pancakes. How about you come join us for them, and we’ll have a discussion over breakfast?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Klaus relents. “Fine. But they better be smiley faces.”

“Naturally.”

He’s following Diego out the door when he stops, staring at the edge of the door.

“Klaus,” Diego says, exasperated.

Ignoring him, Klaus opens the door to Ben’s room and compares the two with a frown.

“Look, I don’t know what this is about, but—”

“It’s painted,” Klaus muses.

Diego gives him an odd look. “What’s painted?”

“The door.”

“So? They all are.”

Klaus shakes his head. “Ben’s isn’t painted the same way. See? The edge of Ben’s isn’t painted. But this one is.” The edge of Ben’s door is still the wood’s natural color, but the other is painted to match the rest of it. He runs his fingers down it; just the regular, smooth feeling.

Diego snorts. “Since when have you ever had any attention to detail?”

“Since it was necessary for my occupation.”

“I really think you’re making something out of no—”

Ben interrupts Diego. “Klaus, look at this.” He points to the inside edge of the door.

Klaus walks over. There’s a scribble of black marker, mostly covered by the paint. Still frowning, Klaus picks away at the paint with his fingernail. He can barely make out anything of the writing. It just looks like… numbers.

“What?” His voice sounds distant, even to himself.

“You go eat breakfast,” Ben says. “I’ll look around more while you do.”

Klaus smiles. “Fine. Thanks, Ben.” He turns back to Diego. “Ready to— What is it?”

Diego is openly gaping at him. “Ben’s here?”

Oh. Ohhh. That one small, tiny detail he hadn’t ever told his family about. Right. That thing.

“I’ll explain over breakfast?”

“You’d better,” Diego growls.

Klaus crosses his arms. “On second thought, I’ve reconsidered. I won’t explain at all because I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

“Fine. I’d like you to explain.”

“Great!” Klaus walks away, making his way down to the kitchen, where Grace and Viktor are already waiting.

The pancakes are still warm, covered in just the right amount of syrup and butter and arranged to make a smiley face with the bacon. Viktor is picking at it slowly, as though it’s some foreign food he’s been warned against eating.

Klaus, however digs right in, practically shoving the entire pancake into his mouth whole.

“Woah, slow down. You’ll choke,” Diego says.

“Kinky,” Klaus responds around a mouthful of pancake.

Viktor and Diego make matching faces of disgust. Grace’s humming doesn’t even pause.

“So,” Diego says, rapidly changing topics. “Ben.”

“Riiight. Ben. Yeah.”

Viktor looks between the two of them. “What about Ben?”

Klaus sighs. “I’ve been able to see him since the day of his funeral.”

Outrage flickers across both Diego’s and Viktor’s faces, though Viktor schools his expression quickly. Diego, on the other hand, remains livid.

“Since the day he died.”

Klaus nods.

“And you didn’t tell us?”

“I did. But none of you believed me.” It’s been a bitter spot for ages. “You all kind of shrugged me off. At least you listened, Viktor, but you were only being polite. Allison, on the other hand, completely freaked out on me the moment I mentioned Ben.”

Diego looks away. No doubt he’s recalling the way he had slammed the door in Klaus’ face, telling him to come back when he was sober. Luther’s reaction had been similar, though he didn’t tell Klaus to come back. Allison had freaked out and told him not to bring up Ben ever again, and he had obliged.

“Anyway,” Klaus says. “Ben and I both won’t be around long if the world ends.”

Viktor is obviously holding back an eyeroll. “Right.”

“So. Training.”

“I’m starting to think it would be better if—”

“Nope! None of that. We’re trying the training first.”

Viktor sighs. “I really don’t—”

“One day,” Klaus says. “Your meds won’t be enough. One day, you’ll forget to take them, or you’ll run out, or whatever else. And you won’t have any idea how to use your powers. If we begin training, we work on preventing that.”

“Well, what if I lose control during training?”

“I know how to work with that.”

Viktor sets down his fork, no longer supporting the illusion that he’s interested in breakfast. “You’ve trained me before?”

Klaus shrugs. “Apocalypse. You survived. I met your ghost.”

“Those statements are contrary,” Diego points out.

“Well, he died before the kid and I joined the Commission. He just so happened to follow us with the time travel.”

“Ghosts can’t use their powers… can they?”

Klaus shrugs. “It worked out. Anyway, we’ll need a place to start.”

“Where are we even supposed to train my powers?”

“There’s a soundproof chamber in the basement. We can start there.”

“Soundproof?”

This is going to take a lot of explaining.

~~~

Viktor gives up the second they move on to practical training, too embarrassed and frustrated that it didn’t work. He’s convinced Klaus is making this all up, despite all evidence to the contrary. Yet Klaus can’t blame him; he’s been convinced all his life that he doesn’t have any powers. Why would this change now?

If this is going to work, he’ll have to talk with Allison about giving Viktor’s memories back.

~~~

“I’d still like to meet Leonard,” Klaus says as he and Viktor are leaving the chamber. “I’ll feel better if I can see that he’s really different here.”

Diego laughs from the top of the stairs. “You know, you seem very interested in other people’s dating lives. First Viktor, then mine, and now Viktor’s again. Hell, you even asked about Allison’s.”

“That—”

“Word of advice,” Diego says, “focus on your own dating life. I know that you have a problem being a nosy little shit, but it’s getting kind of…”

Klaus tries to listen. He really does. But he can barely hear anything over the planes. Over the gunfire. The shouts. The bombs. The screams that are his own voice calling, “Dave, Dave, Dave.” Like that will bring him back.

He can barely hear anything over the sound of his ragged breathing. Of his own overworking heart, which acts as though it’s trying to make up for the absence of Dave’s heartbeat. He can barely feel anything beyond the blood—so much blood—and the crushing grief, the feeling that it should have been him. That he can come back.

That Dave can’t.

He can barely hear anything beyond the pain, the sorrow, the loss. Not over the sound of a name being called. “Dave, Dave—”

“—Klaus!”

It isn’t his own voice. It’s Ben’s, reaching through all the pain, cutting through all the sorrow, pulling him away from all the loss. Ben has always been something of an anchor for him, a foundation, a solid ground.

It’s odd how things stay the same, even when everything around them changes.

Klaus looks at Diego. He can actually see him now, past the dark and the explosions and the ghosts. So, so many ghosts.

Without another word, Klaus leaves before he says something he’ll regret.

~~~

If he’s going to stop the apocalypse, he’ll have to do it alone.

~~~

“How can I help you?”

“I’d like to file a missing person’s report.”

“All right. What’s the name?”

Klaus blinks. “Mine, or his?”

“His.”

“Oh,” he says. “Leonard Peabody.”

“And what is your relation to Peabody? Friend, relative?”

Klaus smiles. “I’m his boyfriend. Viktor Hargreeves.” It’s as good a time as any for identity fraud.

When requested, he exchanges information, gives a whole sob story, and promises to be in touch through the Academy’s phone number.

He can only hope Viktor’s busy for long enough that he doesn’t notice anything.

~~~

Once Klaus steps into the Academy, he’s met with the sight of Diego dejectedly waiting in one of the chairs in the living room. It’s odd; if anyone, he expected to run into Viktor, who was planning on ransacking his room for anything of worth before leaving… probably forever.

“Hey, man,” Diego says.

“Guten Tag.”

Diego responds, “Buenas tardes.” He takes a breath. “I’m… sorry about earlier.”

Klaus stares at him. “That was quick.” The words fall out without his permission. Diego may be a lot of things, but quick to apologise is not one of them.

However, even with Klaus’ undoubtedly annoying reaction, Diego continues, “I overreacted, and I shouldn’t have said what I did. If you really come from a future where the world ends, I can understand that you would be frustrated with the whole… situation.”

“Frustrated” is an understatement. But Klaus isn’t going to focus on that. Instead, he sits across from Diego.

“I…” Klaus swallows back the tears before they can even begin. There’s no way he’s going to get a semblance of this story out while crying. “His name was Dave. David Katz.” He can still see the typewriter font.

The blood.

“‘Was?’”

Klaus squeezes his eyes shut, giving himself another moment. “He… died.”

Ben stands next to Klaus, a comforting presence. “You don’t have to force yourself to talk about him until you’re ready,” he says.

Klaus nods. “He… was shot down. Vietnam war. Right through the chest.”

A heavy silence falls, so tangible Klaus can feel its weight on his shoulders.

“I—”

“Don’t,” Klaus says. “Just… don’t. I can conjure him. I know I can. I’ll just… need my powers if anything happens.”

Diego hums. “Like the apocalypse?”

“Like the apocalypse.”

“Can’t you just… try again?”

Klaus shudders. “Sorry,” he says. “Would you want to be stuck in a twenty-year-long loop, trying and failing to save the world?”

“So we get it right this time.” He makes it sound so easy.

“And that includes talking to Viktor. Training him. Making sure his cause-the-apocalypse meter doesn’t go above halfway.” Klaus sighs. “Meeting Leonard.”

He’s not entirely looking forward to meeting Leonard, but it feels necessary. If he’s going to see whether this Leonard is acceptable, he’s going to need to meet the man. He has low hopes, but maybe things are different enough here that Leonard’s a good person.

Ha. Those hopes are very, very low.

“Shouldn’t we deal with Cha Cha and Hazel, too?”

Klaus shakes his head. “It won’t matter. Until we actually succeed at changing the timeline, the Commission will come after us.”

On cue, the front door shakes.

“Shit,” Klaus says tonelessly. He knows it’s not Allison and Luther; they won’t be back until later. Maybe not until tomorrow morning.

Thus, he stands. “I’m getting Dad’s rifle,” he says, leaving no room for argument. “See about taking Viktor to safety.”

“So, what? Do you call the shots every time—”

“Is now really the time to argue?” Klaus retorts.

He leaves before Diego can respond, rushing up the stairs and hoping everything will be fine when things get back. The kid isn’t even here to reverse things, if he can even reverse time as opposed to traveling through it. Klaus has no idea about the extent of his abilities.

All he knows is what he can do to help. He knows exactly where Reginald’s rifle is; surprisingly, it hasn’t been cleaned out yet, despite Diego’s efforts. Probably because it’s harder to sell a rifle than a pen. Not that it was too hard. Seriously, he could’ve just found a local Walmart and left it there.

Klaus shoves these thoughts to the back of his mind, grabs the rifle, and runs back. The sound of gunfire is startlingly loud, and he has to focus hard on reality so that he doesn’t have a repeat of this morning.

The rifle has only so many shots. Still. Every shot hits someone in the center of the chest or forehead. Klaus isn’t made for the killing. But he’s even less suited towards letting his family die.

Diego’s knives keep hitting their marks. Once, twice, seven times. It’s not enough. It’s clear these are just the less trained people; they’re only here in the hopes they’ll be important enough to throw things off balance.

And maybe they would. If they were facing anyone else.

Klaus is out of bullets.

He’s not out of Bens.

“Ready, Benerino?”

Ben seems concerned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You haven’t been sober for long in this body.”

“I’m taking that as a yes,” Klaus says. Without any further warning, he stepped out from his cover, slipping down the stairs before springing up and conjuring Ben with a practiced ease. It’s harder than normal, but they’ve worked with each other enough that he can manage it, despite the effort it takes.

“Klaus!” Diego yells, fussing at him for standing in the middle of the gunfire. Even if he does get shot down, he’ll get back up again. The pain is temporary.

It’s all Klaus can do to let Ben do his thing.

The sound of the monsters is familiar. The aftermath is familiar, too. He can see the people freaking out as their coworkers are torn to shreds.

One leaps behind a pillar, dropping their gun before doing so. Others panic and try to shoot the tentacles, to no avail.

The smallest of the bunch, leaps towards another, tapping her shoulder.

They both blink away.

Too rapidly, Klaus dismisses Ben, making himself dizzy in the process.

The kid is here. The kid is safe. He almost had Ben kill the kid. But the kid is here.

He’s alive.

Link to AO3 | Link to Next Part (to be added)

[incarnateirony]

Regarding: fandom and projection and assumptions, and you people hearing what you want to hear, because people aren't speaking the exact way you want them to, to fit your comfort or bias and/or the lack of interest in them as an individual and what they're communicating.

Remember the fuss about the pilot script? lying hableries like 2po, wiki, big boasters that don't get it yelled fake. Then Jensen said "A script was leaked, but it's different." Fandom thus took their poor viewpoint data from people with bad perspective like 2po and rubber stamp coffee runners at low grades, then projected that at what Jensen said, "JENSEN SAID THE SCRIPT IS FAKE!"

But he never said that. What he said was true. By then, Robbie had a chart, for reasons, that was drawn, with Better Call Saul references manifested out of the aether (Bobo, it was Bobo, if you listen), and the formula and structure of presentation changed.

That doesn't mean the original script was fake. It means your lenses and biases were flawed, and you read what you wanted to. The script was real, and even realer and newer than their own coffee runners' that they were relying on, but yes. It was different from the final product.

Everything else the fandom noisemakers attached--and DOUBLED DOWN ON INSISTING even LONG after it was proven, they had Committed to their bad take about A Fake Script so goddamnit they were gonna double down into it past the point of blazing gaping asshole stupidity until they shoot themselves in the foot for their own attention for their own script that showed, SHOCK, IT WAS REAL, AND NEWER THAN YOURS.

This is about projection. This is about people who assign bad biases and readings, project their nonsense, their bad faith, and have zero intention of listening to what's actually being said. People see and hear what they want to see and hear without asking themselves if that's what the target individual is actually communicating, rather than what you want to hear.

Then, those who had doubled down into their own misreading turned around screeching "JENSEN LIED!!!!!" no, motherfuckers, you just don't listen. You're too busy inside your own narcissistic heads trying to make the world comply to your headcanons about real people and what they're saying.

Another example: Jensen's two different takes between the two shots, segregating In That Moment vs New/After/Next. Nobody wants to listen to him. He's speaking just as clear and true about his separate before and after--the In That Moment Brohug notsexual vs In The Next Shot I. The had a take vs have a take. Listen to what he's saying. Stop trying to find ways to warp it, like you guys did with the script.

Because this is, I say for the 101th time: THE FUCKING PLOT. The plot is all interpretations are NOT equal, they are NOT all true, yours sucks ASS, and there's an actual meaning and truth to things whether you stomach it or not.

Context, assholes. Learn it, live it, love it, because it's about to spank the everloving shit out of you.

[kidflashimpulse]

while my opinion on Dark Crisis YJ's art changes from panel to panel, i do generally like how Bart is drawn. besides having some actual length to his hair, he's roughly the same height as Tim and has actual muscle which i LOVE. (related note: he's kinda inconsistent in YJA from s3 onward body type wise (animation budget woes) but i firmly hc that while he isn't BUFF, he's physically strong and LOOKS IT as he gets older. no one can convince me he has twig limbs. especially not twig legs)

speedsters and twig legs is actually the ultimate art crime fr 

agreed on his comic version, aslong as hes not ugly, got lean muscle definition (I don't mean skinny lean, I mean it in the context of hero comics knowing how muscles can be drawn LOL) hes not microscopically short and has volume in his hair, im a happy camper lmfao

regarding his YJA version (animation woes being so painful) taking the inconsistencies into account, I usually take the panels where u can see hes drawn with care as reference to how hes supposed to consistently look (lmfao)

Now that hes older hes definitely got strength and the physique for it, but I do see him as being on the skinnier (and shorter, tbh I wouldn't have really considered his height until all the scenes of him with the legion happened lmfaoo like it kinda stood out and hes often among the shorter members in team stuff) side of things mainly cause of long term effects of malnutrition from his original timeline which often show up as the person gets older. Now hes not at all a twig though, that would make zero sense, hes definitely built especially compared to the average person, its just compared to the hero community he would be on the skinnier side of things. It pains me that the animation can be so inconsistent because it results with us needing to HC these things lmfao but oh well. Since we r talking about HC, i really don't know to what extent this is inconsistency or not but I find hes generally less buff outside of costume, so this leads me to think his suit (and well, all hero suits tbh which would make sense) has extra padding. 

Thick thighs tho is a guarantee I don't care if we don't see it or not (actually I do but we've all seen the current state of YJA animation so) make some noise members of the thick thigh speedster club, where y'all at lmfaooo